Dragon-Verse: The Year of the Toclafane
by milady dragon
Summary: AU - Sequel to Dragon-Verse: Series One. Jack has gone off with the Doctor, leaving Ianto to run Torchwood and to deal with the coming of the Master and the Toclafane
1. Fixed Point

Fixed Point

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, sorry...

Author's note: And here we are, the first chapter of Dragon-Verse: The Year of the Toclafane. This first part is a one-shot, dealing with Jack meeting the Doctor once more. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**Unknown Time, Hundreds of Trillions of Years in the Future, the planet Malcassairo**_

There was pain, then darkness.

Then the inevitable agony of resurrection.

Pulling as much air into his lungs as possible, Jack surged upward, surprised to find an attractive woman kneeling next to him, wearing clothes that would have been right at home in Cardiff in what he now considered his home time. It took him a few precious seconds to regain his wits; as he did so the woman began to speak, revealing an obvious London accent. Of course, she would be the Doctor's current companion.

"It's all right," she said soothingly, sounding very much like a doctor would sound…well, any doctor but Owen, that was. "Just take deep breaths, I've got you."

Jack smiled charmingly, despite his body aching from his unprotected trip through his Vortex. "Captain Jack Harkness…and who are you?" He could practically hear Ianto's eyes rolling all the way to wherever they were.

"Martha Jones," she answered, blushing slightly.

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones," he said sincerely.

"Oh, don't start."

Jack looked up at the voice. The man in the brown trench coat had to be the Doctor; it was the same man who'd been at Canary Wharf and who'd saved the world from the Daleks and the Cybermen. He was very different from the one Jack had known, but then that had been the point of him waiting in Cardiff for as long as he had to find a regeneration he could interact with and not damage the time lines.

His tone irritated Jack; it was as if he was being told off like an errant schoolboy. His own Doctor would have made the warning sound playful, and would have made a joke of it. Regeneration really was a bitch.

"I was just saying hello," he angrily snapped, but his tone didn't seem to affect the Time Lord at all.

"I don't mind," Martha said, grinning. She helped him up.

He got a look around at his surroundings. It was like a wasteland, cold and gloomy, not a sound traveled and no wind blew through the skeletal brush that somehow survived in the rocky ground. Jack couldn't help but shiver, the desolation settling into his bones. And the sky…it was as empty as the landscape was, black as pitch, only a very few stars visible and those flickering pitifully. He wondered where they were…_when_ they were, for it to be like this.

Jack reached down to pick up the backpack that had somehow come off in transit. He stood, staring at the Doctor coldly, already not much liking this version. "Doctor."

"Captain," the Doctor acknowledged, simply standing there with his hands in his trouser pockets.

"Good to see you." It was, despite the irritation he was feeling. He put it down to finally seeing the one person who could give him answers as to his condition, and ignored it.

"And you," the Doctor sounded a little less frosty, but there was something still in his tone that Jack couldn't put his finger on. "Same as ever…although…have you had work done?"

_What the hell? _ Even if Jack had been into that sort of thing, it would have reversed the first time he'd died after the actual surgery. "You can talk!" he exclaimed, his surprise obvious.

"Oh yes," the Doctor said. "Regeneration. How did you know it was me?"

Jack jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, toward the TARDIS. "The police box kinda gives it away." He looked at the man the Doctor had become, wishing he could see the previous Doctor in him. Still, this would make the confrontation a bit easier, since he appeared to be talking to a virtual stranger. "I've been waiting for you for a long time," he accused, not able to keep the hurt out of his voice. "You abandoned me."

"Did I?" the Doctor asked, sounding completely blasé about it. "Busy life. Moved on."

Just like that, the Doctor washed his hands of Jack. It hurt, more than he would have thought. Jack had hoped that, perhaps, the Doctor hadn't known he was alive; that he and Rose had left because they'd believed Jack had been exterminated by the Daleks. Yet here, the Time Lord was practically admitting that he'd known that Jack had been left behind. No remorse; no sorrow.

Nothing.

Suddenly, Jack didn't want his answers anymore. He rubbed the ring on his finger; the ring Ianto had given him, as he'd sung to him, as an outward sign of his commitment to Jack. He wanted to go home, to Ianto; to curl up next to his mate and let out the pain he was feeling. This wasn't at all how he'd imagined it; for so long, he'd thought about leaving with the Doctor, believing he'd be welcome, and having more adventures while the Doctor fixed whatever it was that made him unable to die. But, after acknowledging his feelings for his dragon, he'd realized that his place was on Earth, and that he'd only be gone long enough to get his answers.

Now, he wasn't even sure he would be getting those.

But this Doctor wasn't his. This Doctor, by his body language, was uncomfortable with Jack's very presence. This wasn't the Doctor that Jack would have gladly given his life for; and in fact, had, trying to buy him enough time to stop the Daleks. He hadn't sacrificed himself for this particular Time Lord.

However, this particular version of the Doctor hadn't done the actual abandoning, either. He was simply agreeing with it, which made Jack's own Doctor just as bad. It was as if Jack was finally seeing the truth behind his hero, and it was horrible. Jack wanted to curl up and scream at the unfairness of it all.

Life wasn't fair, though. Just looking at his own existence, that much was obvious. At least though he still had Ianto waiting for him.

There was one thing he did need to know, however. "I have to ask: about Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler."

Now, that brought a grin on the Doctor's face. "Oh! No, sorry…she's alive."

Relief and joy slammed through him. When he'd seen Rose's name…she hadn't deserved to die at the hands of the Cybermen or Daleks. "Really?" he gasped, unable to hide his own happy grin. She'd been his friend, the one who'd really believed in him, and knowing that she was fine took a huge weight from his shoulders.

"Parallel world," the Doctor answered. "All safe and sound. And Mickey! And her mother!"

The sudden urge to hug the Doctor hit him, but he stayed his ground. There was still being abandoned between them, and the hurt was stronger than the relief at Rose's survival.

Instead, he nodded. "That's fantastic!" he said in relief.

"Well," the Doctor said, clapping his hands together, "how about we explore? It's not often you get to see the end of the universe!" With that, he turned and strode off.

Well, that explained the _when_.

"Actually," Jack replied, "I'd like to go home now." He'd leave the Doctor's hand with him, and go back to his life in Cardiff… and to his dragon. He really had no desire to look around; the place was far too gloomy, and wasn't helping his mood.

The Doctor stopped in his tracks. "You're not serious," he scoffed, his eyes wide.

Martha was looking between the two of them, her pretty face confused. Jack couldn't blame her.

"I'm sorry," he said, even though he really wasn't, "but all I wanted to do was catch you long enough to get some answers. I have my own life now, and I really would like to get back to it." Before, he would have gone off with the Doctor happily, no questions asked. But now…

"I can have you back in Cardiff before we even left," the Doctor said.

Jack thought he was trying too hard.

He rolled his eyes. "Please. You can't navigate the TARDIS at the best of times. I'm supposed to believe you care enough about getting me back to my own time to make an effort like that?" He hadn't meant for it to come out the way it had, but he honestly didn't think the Doctor _did_ care.

The flinch told him that he'd hit some sort of target.

"C'mon," the Time Lord coaxed, "what's in Cardiff that you can't wait a little bit to see?"

Jack stood up a bit straighter. "Someone I love very much. And I would like to see them again before the turn of the next century." He didn't want to tell this man about Ianto. The dragon was his, and it wasn't any of the Doctor's business who his mate was. Hell, he didn't think the Doctor would even understand.

The Doctor looked surprised by the answer. "Someone's actually managed to tie Jack Harkness down? I don't believe it."

Jack stared him right in the eye. He was flabbergasted that the Doctor obviously didn't think he was capable of being happy in a relationship. Certainly, Jack was well aware of how he'd acted back when he'd traveled with his Doctor and Rose, but why was it so impossible to accept that he could find someone to settle down with?

"Fine," he answered. "I'll just wait in the TARDIS for the pair of you to get back, shall I?" Jack was genuinely insulted, and it wasn't just the Doctor's attitude toward Jack's own ability to find happiness. No, it was the Time Lord's complete dismissal of him, admitting that he'd abandoned him on the Gamestation without even checking to see if he was alive or dead. He didn't want to spend any more time in the Doctor's company than he had to.

Turning his back on the Doctor and Martha, Jack marched over to the TARDIS, pulling out his keyring, where he'd kept his own TARDIS key. Laying a hand on the blue wood, Jack let the time machine's presence wash over him, welcoming him back.

But there was something else: a feeling of great sorrow, as if she was apologizing for something. "What is it?" he murmured, stroking down the door, hoping she could be more communicative with him. They'd always had a bit of a rapport, and Jack loved her fiercely…just as she did him. There weren't actually words involved, but Jack could understand what she was trying to tell him.

He was meant to be there.

Jack might give the Doctor grief about not landing where he always said he would, but he knew it was really all up to the TARDIS, which is something he didn't think the Time Lord quite understood. There'd been times when traveling with him and Rose that Jack had gotten the distinct impression that the time machine knew exactly what she was doing in having them at certain places, and at just the right time to stop the bad things from happening.

She seemed to sense that he understood, and the TARDIS pulled away, leaving Jack to his own thoughts. Well, if she wanted him there, it must be important.

Shoving his keyring back into his pocket, Jack turned back to the Doctor. The Time Lord looked stunned, as if he'd just seen something he hadn't expected. "Well," Jack said, hitching the backpack onto his shoulders, "what are we waiting for?"

Jack trusted the TARDIS; even though he got the feeling what was going to happen would not be good.

When he looked back on this moment, when things were as dark as they possibly could be and he'd just endured another seemingly session of agony with the Master, he would think about how he'd trusted the TARDIS to put them where they'd needed to be. How angry he'd been with the Doctor for the way he'd finally explained just how Jack had become immortal; how he'd been told that, basically, his very presence made the Time Lord ill, and how he shouldn't have existed, acting as if it were Jack's own fault that he was unable to stay dead when it had actually been because a well-meaning young girl had taken on a God-like power and had messed it all up.

Jack would also think of a certain dragon, and how Ianto had accepted him no matter what, and had loved him for who he was. Ianto had changed his life for the better, and not the Doctor as he'd always maintained, and had supported him throughout everything in their too-short seven years together. Jack would reflect on just how many of those years he'd wasted on a dream that had become a nightmare, when the one being he'd thought would accept him had pissed their previous friendship away.

He knew Ianto would be out there fighting, and hoped that the so-called plan the Doctor had cooked up would work, because his trust in the Doctor had been severely damaged by events on Malcassairo. He would keep on playing the role of the slave, and the test subject for a madman in exchange for the Master leaving the Jones family alone.

He really wanted nothing more than to see his dragon, and to go home to his family.

But certain things had to happen.

They were a fixed point.

Just like Jack was.


	2. Before the Fall Chapter One

Before the Fall - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, sorry

Author's note: This story is called Before the Fall, detailing the events leading up to the Master taking over. Thanks everyone for reading the first chapter, I appreciate the support. Hope you enjoy this story.

* * *

_**4 June 2008 **_

Ianto sighed, running his scanner over the railing of the Cardiff Bay Barrage, the bleeping noise sounding loud to his ears as he traced the negative Rift spike that had taken place there not that long ago.

The wind blew his jacket open, but he ignored it, using both device and senses to find the exact position the spike had manifested. The dragon hated the negative spikes. If the positive ones were like stormfronts, then the negatives felt as if the Rift were more of a black hole, the absolute absence of power sucking everything around it into its inescapable depths. They didn't feel natural, and Ianto dreaded them, and not because of the sensations they entailed, but because of what they meant to the poor soul caught up with their implacable grip.

This one, he knew. He'd met the once-young man, Jonah Bevin, when he and Jack had found him a couple of years ago. The Rift had deposited him back long before he'd been taken, in a paradox that had now resolved itself, leaving him a shell of the teenage boy he'd been.

He sighed again, putting away the scanner and heading back to his vehicle. There was nothing he could do, and he knew that; but he still felt completely helpless to stop anyone else being taken by the Rift.

He wished Jack was there.

But his mate was gone, had been for four months.

Ianto climbed into his car, and headed back to the Hub.

* * *

The Hub was far too quiet.

Everyone had gone home. Toshiko had powered down everything, and the main area was all shadows and gloom. Ianto made himself a cup of tea by darkness, then made his way down toward his hoard room, his shoes making very little noise on the cold stone of the floor.

The dragon had taken to staying in the Hub, since Jack had left. His house just didn't seem like home anymore, not without Jack to share it. He'd been surprised as just how quickly his place had taken on a cold and desolate air, not realizing just how much of Jack's personality had filled it.

Ianto missed his mate terribly. When he'd encouraged Jack to go with the Doctor, he'd had no idea he'd be gone for so long. He'd gotten into a couple of arguments with Gwen on whether Jack was coming back; he knew she blamed him for Jack's leaving, and yes perhaps it was partially his fault. But there was no way he was going to hold Jack back from getting answers about his seeming immortality. He'd waited so long, and Ianto had confidence that his lover would be back.

It was just depending on _when_.

Ianto unlocked the hoard room door by touch, then entered. The small nightlight he usually left on lent the place a soft glow, the gold and jewels reflecting the tiny brightness around the room. The place felt as empty as his loft at home, but it was easier to deal with here.

The dragon turned on the television that he'd also set up in the room; it looked somewhat innocuous on the antique oak table he'd put it on. Alien tech gave the telly power and signal, and Ianto set his tea down beside it, in order to remove his suit and to hang it up in the wardrobe he'd co-opted for the clothing he'd moved in with him there at the Hub. He'd drink his tea then transform for the night, sleeping on cushions that were too cold without his mate to share them.

Ianto shook his head. He was getting way too maudlin. Yes, Jack was gone, but it wasn't like he was never coming back…despite what Gwen thought. At least Toshiko and Owen both had faith in their leader, even though the medic had been grousing about Jack's absence ever since Ianto had reported that Jack had gone on personal leave. They both tried to keep him occupied, and Toshiko was wont to get irritated with him if she caught him sleeping at the Hub. Owen had even taken him out and gotten him pissed on more than one night.

He flipped the television on, frowning at the coverage of the elections. Harold Saxon had won…and by such a large margin that Ianto wondered if he somehow hadn't cheated. He personally didn't like the man; he'd dealt with Saxon many times as Minister of Defense, and it usually had something to do with Saxon pushing the limits on what he should actually be privy to, where Torchwood was concerned. Jack hadn't gotten along with him at all, stemming from his repeated attempts at discussing Torchwood business during Cabinet meetings.

Now, it looked as if Ianto was going to be stuck dealing with him more often.

That was a lovely thought.

He finished his tea, turned off the television, then changed into his dragon form. Sinking down onto his bed of pillows and quilts, curling up so that his snout was under his wing, the dragon fell asleep.

* * *

A strange noise awoke the dragon from a restless sleep.

He just didn't sleep as well without Jack, and if his mate had been there the dragon doubted the slight noise would have penetrated his dreams. As it was, it did wake him, and at first he thought that perhaps someone had come down to get him, and that he'd somehow overslept.

Raising his head, he looked around the hoard room, trying to find the source of the slight scuffling sound, but saw nothing. Sighing, he lay his head back down, and was just dozing off once more when the noise happened again.

This wasn't just an anonymous noise from the Hub; the dragon was familiar with those, and besides down this far it was completely quiet, and there were times when he could swear he could hear the very Earth breathing around him. No, this was a deliberate sound, as if someone was making it purposely in order not to startle him and doing a piss-poor job of it.

His head swung away from the door…and noticed that one of the mating posts was glowing.

The dragon's heart beat faster, and he sat on his haunches, checking to see if any of the others were doing the same.

They were.

He could feel the sudden prickling of power against his scales. It wasn't the Rift; well, not all of it; this was all part and parcel of the ancient power of the world, and the dragon waited to see what was going to happen next.

The light from the posts was eclipsed by shadow and fog, and the smell of fresh earth and rain filled the hoard room. The temperature seemed to go up, and a wind caused a set of crystal chimes that Toshiko had given him for his last birthday to sound melodiously.

So, it was all four. That surprised him; he'd been led to believe they didn't have the power to manifest like that any longer.

The dragon bobbed his head in respect as the Earth Dragon grew from shadow into a large, dark silhouette against the stone of the wall. He was followed by the other three Dragons: Air, Water, and Fire, all curving around their corresponding posts, their heads turned inward to pin the younger, physical dragon with their ancient gazes.

He didn't speak; he knew the Dragons would say what they wanted to, and it was bound to be fairly cryptic.

"_Sorry to interrupt your rest," _the Earth Dragon said by way of greeting, _"especially since you shall need it before the trials that are ahead of you darken this world."_

This didn't sound good at all. The dragon once again felt the loss of his mate, and hoped that Jack would be home soon.

"_Your mate shall be home,"_ the sweet voice of the Water Dragon said, as if reading his mind, _"however you shall not see him for a time yet."_

"_He is tied up in the troubles ahead," _the Fire Dragon added. _"There are things that need to occur, and your Jack is involved too deeply to be free yet to come to your side."_

"Is he all right?" the dragon asked worriedly. What they were saying was ominous indeed, and he needed to know that Jack would be fine.

"_He shall suffer as you will," _the Earth Dragon answered. _"But, unlike the Card Reader, we offer light in the darkness."_

"_We are calling the Dragon Friends home," _the Air Dragon said. _"They will be needed in the dire times as well, and will best serve the light in Ddraig Llyn."_

"Can't you tell me what's going to happen?" the dragon asked, sounding petulant to his own ears. He knew that calling the Dragon-Friends to Ddraig Llyn meant that they would basically be going into hiding, and while that might be for the best for them, he needed to know what to expect in order to deal with it.

"_We are not completely certain of that," _the Earth Dragon answered. _"Even the Fae cannot see beyond the days ahead. They have retreated to the Lost Lands, and will not emerge until all is well again."_

The dragon frowned. "Then this isn't anything that will affect the Pacts?"

"_No. What comes is not of man's making, of that we are certain."_

If he'd been in his human form, the dragon would have been chewing on his thumbnail. As it was, he absently clicked a claw against one canine, the sound like nails being driven into the world's coffin. His imagination was running rampant. What could be coming that was so bad, and yet not of man's making? Being Torchwood that, to the dragon, could only mean one thing.

Alien invasion.

"Is there nothing we can do to stop it?" he asked. Perhaps with foreknowledge…

"_Certain things need to happen," _the Air Dragon answered. _"This is one of those things. No one can know how this will affect the world or humankind, but it is important to the way things are."_

"_We call the Dragon-Friends home," _the Water Dragon reiterated.

"_But you must stay," _the Fire Dragon said. _"You will be needed."_

"I would never think of hiding," the dragon put in fiercely. "And I won't abandon the world while my mate is in it, no matter where he is."

"_That did not need to be said," _the Air Dragon chuckled. _"We know how loyal you are to him, as he is to you."_

The dragon drew himself up. "I am, and I shall remain so even if there's no true mating for us."

"_We cannot see much past the coming darkness," _the Earth Dragon said, _"but we can see that. Be patient, our child, and you shall one day have what you wish."_

The dragon's heart warmed at that news. He really did want that one true union with Jack, and he would wait for as long as it took, if it meant they would be able to sing the Song of Eternity together.

"_You and your Jack are destined," _the Water Dragon agreed. _"He may not yet believe so, but you have seen the vision of your mating, and you know the truth of it. Be assured that your loyalty will be rewarded."_

"I would rather have him love me by his choice, than because of some sort of destiny." He knew the power of destiny and that was the last thing he wanted to put either of them through, the Tarot Girl's reading foremost in his mind.

"_He does, have no fear of that. But the coming times will test you both. There will be moments when you will doubt, but as we have said, there is light within the coming darkness."_

The dragon considered what he'd been told. Yes, it had been cryptic as he'd known it would be, but there were still a few things he could work with. From what he could guess at, what was coming was some form of alien invasion, and that Jack was somehow involved.

And the team would be one person down – two if he counted Kathy – when the Dragons called the Dragon-Friends to Ddraig Llyn.

At least Toshiko and Kathy would both be relatively safe.

"How quickly is this going to happen?" he asked, already trying to come up with a mental list of things they would need at the Hub in order to deal with a serious invasion. He'd also need to call UNIT and warn them, as well as the Home Office…

"_Within days," _the Air Dragon answered. _"Events are already in motion for the end of the world as we know it."_

The dragon shivered at that proclamation. "That soon?"

"_Darkness will roll across the world and there truly is no way to be ready," _the Earth Dragon said. _"But be as prepared as you can, and know that it will all end as it should."_

With that, the Dragons began to fade away. It took only seconds before the hoard room had returned to normal, leaving the dragon still fairly confused but determined to do what needed to be done.

He changed back into human form, and Ianto left the room, heading up into the main Hub in order to try to figure out what was about to happen…and how the best to survive it.


	3. Before the Fall Chapter Two

Before the Fall - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry.

Author's note: Welcome to a new chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

_**4 June 2008**_

"No," Toshiko said, resisting the urge to stamp her foot and descend into sheer childishness. "I'm needed here."

She tried to stare down the Earth Dragon, but that was difficult when said Dragon was nothing but a shadow looming over her. He couldn't honestly be asking her to leave, not when there was danger coming?

"I'm not going to abandon my teammates on your say-so," she went on. "When I became a Dragon-Friend, it was to help support Ianto and Jack. I might not be able to do that with Jack at the moment, but Ianto needs me. He's going through enough without me leaving him like that!"

She'd been honored when the Great Dragon had appeared, even thought he'd awakened her out of a sound sleep. But, that had swiftly turned to anger as he'd explained that she was being called to Ddraig Llyn, just when she'd be most needed by her friends.

"_Your loyalty does you credit," _the Earth Dragon replied, _"but you are needed for a bigger purpose."_

"I'm sorry, but there's no bigger purpose than standing by one's friends."

The Earth Dragon sighed, and Toshiko took a perverse pleasure out of knowing that she was frustrating the spirit being. _"Toshiko, we need you at Ddraig Llyn. The valley cannot become the sanctuary it needs to be during the darkness without you. All four Dragon-Friends must come, or the valley will be lost. Will you condemn innocents with your stubbornness?"_

Now the Dragon was using emotional blackmail to get her to cooperate, and Toshiko had to admit that it was working. Torchwood was created in part to protect people, and this was what the Earth Dragon was asking.

"Why can't I protect people here, doing what I do, with Torchwood?" she asked, feeling herself begin to cave just a little.

'_We cannot see far beyond the next days," _the Earth Dragon answered. _"However, the one thing we see is devastation; the Earth in ruins. Humanity needs a haven, in case things go far worse than what is apparent. Even the Fae are leaving this world behind. I can understand and appreciate your need to stand by my son and your adopted family, but there are times when we must take the path that would be personally distasteful to us. But know this: if things travel on the path that we do foresee, then you will all be reunited at the end of the darkness. If that path is not taken – if one thing is out of place – then the darkness could extend past this world and to other worlds beyond this one. What you decide here will have repercussions far greater than just on Earth."_

Well, no pressure then…

Toshiko sighed. As much as she wanted to stay, the Earth Dragon wasn't leaving her much choice. "I can't believe this," she sighed, tugging her robe closer about her. "The one time Ianto really, truly needs me…and I'm forced to turn my back on him."

"_If it makes the decision any easier, my son already knows that we are calling all the Dragon-Friends home. He accepts it."_

She threw up her hands. "Of course he does! He's your loyal soldier; he'll go along with anything you say. And it doesn't help that you're dangling his true mating with Jack over his head like some sort of obscene carrot."

"_Do you think so little of us, that we would promise something we could not make good?" _The Dragon's deep voice sounded surprised.

"Of course not," she answered, feeling slightly guilty. "It's just…he and Jack want this so badly, I don't want them disappointed."

"_Toshiko…dearest daughter, their mating will take place, if we do see the end of these dark days ahead. It is our wish that they, too, be mated. They each could have a great destiny, if only they make it that far. Unfortunately, from what we did see before the darkness closed off the future, there are trials they must go through before that can happen, and certain conditions must be met. However, if they remain on the path – and those around them as well – then there will come a time when a true dragon mating will take place. I swear this to you."_

She believed him. "All right," Toshiko said. "If my going to Ddraig Llyn will somehow lead to my friends being happy, then I'll do it."

"_Thank you. There is one thing you need to do before you leave."_

Why had she thought it would be easy?

"_Another will be accompanying you," _the Earth Dragon continued. _"While she is not one of the four Great Dragon-Friends, she is a Named friend of our son. She also means much to Jack, and if things continue on the path they should, she will play a part in the upcoming mating. I simply ask that she accompany you."_

"Estelle Cole," Toshiko guessed.

"_Yes, daughter. Will you take her with you?_

"Of course, if she wants to go." Toshiko wasn't averse to it; getting to know a friend of her two best friends was no price to pay at all. The only time she'd only met the woman had been during the mess with the Fae, and looked forward to company on the trip. "I take it Kathy will be going by herself?"

The Dragon chuckled. _"I am not against…what do you call it? Carpooling?"_

Toshiko laughed as well. She also wasn't against Kathy Swanson traveling with them; she and the detective had gotten along quite well ever since they'd discovered that they had Ianto and the Great Dragons in common. They spent much of their off time together, either just getting to know each other or in conversation with Rhiannon Davies in Ddraig Llyn, learning more and more about dragon-lore. In fact, Ianto had once teased her about becoming the new Torchwood liaison, since she and Kathy got along so well.

"_Toshiko, I understand you feel as if you are abandoning your friends and family. When human-kind began to murder the dragons, we felt as if our own family was being destroyed. The dragon known as Ianto Jones is special to us, and we would not willingly let him come to harm if we could possibly avoid it; this also means assuring his Jack's safety, for as of now they are as connected as they can be without the official mating. However, all living things have free will, and can decide that they do not want to follow the paths that would be best for them. The future is a fluid thing, and our powers are not nearly as strong as they used to be. We are unable to penetrate the darkness to come, only to extrapolate the path we did see before our sight was obscured. If we have set the proper people on the proper path then that path will continue past the dark times ahead. However, as I have said…there is free will. I can only try to convince, and hope that you will believe."_

That was quite the most Toshiko had heard the Earth Dragon say at one go. She still didn't want to leave, but she could see no choice, not if she wanted Jack and Ianto to get the ending they truly deserved. She was going to make that possible, even if it meant a temporary abandonment now.

"All right," she said. "I'll go."

* * *

_**5 June 2008**_

The drive up to Ddraig Llyn was uneventful, although some of what Toshiko heard on the radio disturbed her.

She'd known that Ianto hadn't trusted Saxon, and hadn't much liked to deal with him. She, personally, hadn't seen anything wrong with the man; he'd had lofty ideals, and wasn't afraid to say pretty things in order for people to accept them. In other words, he was a carbon-copy of most politicians she'd seen.

Kathy, though, had voted for him, as had Estelle; although neither woman could come right out and explain why. Toshiko hadn't made up her mind until she'd set foot into the voting station, where at the last minute she'd decided to vote for Saxon as well.

And she wondered if she'd done the right thing when Saxon announced that there would be First Contact the very next day.

"That's more up your alley than the Prime Minister's," Kathy commented. She leaned between the front seats of Toshiko's car, in order to turn the radio up.

The Toclafane.

Toshiko almost turned the car around when the high-pitched alien voice began to speak. It sent a shiver through her, and she wondered how Ianto and the others were handling things back at the Hub. Would Ianto be on the phone now, trying to get into whatever venue First Contact would be at? Would he be trying to call the whole thing off until there could be proper security, or at least an investigation?

It didn't escape her what the Earth Dragon said.

"This is it," she said, her hands clenching on the steering wheel. "I'm willing to bet my next paycheck that this is the beginning of the darkness the Dragons talked about." It made too much sense. An alien race comes to Earth, just before the darkness that the Dragons had seen was about to fall…no, this wasn't a coincidence. "It's going to be an alien invasion."

"Isn't there anything that can be done?" Estelle asked, stroking a relaxed Moses in her lap. The cat had started out in a carrier, but he'd howled so loudly Estelle had finally taken him out and held him. He was quite content to stay there. "Certainly there are agencies that fight off invasions."

"Torchwood, of course," Toshiko answered. She'd learned very early into the journey that Estelle Cole knew a lot more than she was supposed to, especially when it came to Jack Harkness. "There's also UNIT; they're almost like the regular army, only they specialize in alien incursions." She didn't volunteer information about her own dealings with UNIT; she hated talking about it.

Kathy snorted. "Yeah, had to deal with some UNIT colonel once; he had more of an entitled attitude than Himself does on a good day." Kathy had been livid when she'd found out that Jack had left, and it had taken all of Ianto's assurances that he knew where Jack had gone to finally calm her down. Still, she used any opportunity to take a dig at Jack, and in a way Toshiko couldn't blame her, even though according to Ianto he'd practically pushed Jack toward the Doctor's TARDIS. Jack hadn't had to go, nor did he have to be gone so long.

The mountain road they found themselves driving along finally wound its way into the valley of Ddraig Llyn. The pristine beauty of the place silenced each of them, and it was all Toshiko could do to keep the car on the pavement. It had seemed that the longest part of the trip had been through the mountains; as if the peaks had grown up to purposely hide the secluded valley…which probably did happen, if Toshiko knew the four Great Dragons at all. It really would be a perfect sanctuary for the troubles to come.

The lake that gave the valley its name spread out before them, glittering in the sunlight. The snow-capped mountains were reflected in its placid surface, and Toshiko almost pulled over in order to get a better look. It took a lot of control for her to follow the road toward the village, which spread out along the lake and into the foothills, the homes and businesses built of native stone and looking to be hundreds – if not thousands – of years old.

The Green Dragon Inn was identifiable from the large wooden sign that hung over the main door. It really did resemble a country inn, Toshiko mused silently as she pulled up in front of it. She parked and got out, stretching her tired muscles.

She couldn't help but notice the looks the three of them were getting. Toshiko knew from Ianto's stories that they didn't get that many visitors to the valley; the odd tourist and mountain climber, but beyond that the place was fairly isolated. But when she got a second look, she realized it wasn't because they were strangers; these were expressions of awe, and Toshiko knew it was because they were Dragon-Friends, and not because they were strangers.

"Tosh! Kathy!"

Toshiko turned at the familiar voice. Rhiannon Davies stood on the threshold of the inn, a large smile on her face. She couldn't help but smile as well. "Rhiannon," she greeted, moving around the car to hug her friend.

"Good to see you again," Rhiannon enthused, hugging her back. They hadn't seen each other in person since February, when Rhiannon had come down to Cardiff to talk to her about being a Dragon-Friend.

She let go of Toshiko, and hugged Kathy in return. "And it's good to finally meet you in person," she exclaimed.

"Rhiannon, this is Estelle Cole," Toshiko introduced, once the embracing was done. "The Earth Dragon asked me to bring her. Oh, and her cat, Moses," she added, motioning to the cat in Estelle's arms.

The innkeeper laughed. "And I thought that cats being familiars was a cliché!"

Estelle grinned. "I'm not a practitioner," she corrected lightly. "Although I have been known to dabble a bit."

"Ianto's told me about you," Rhiannon answered. "It takes a power to recognize a dragon in human form, and you were able to do that."

"My mother had the power," Estelle said. "I did get a bit, but I don't truly use it."

"Then maybe it's time you did!" Rhiannon waved them inside. "Let's go in and have a cuppa. I think we have a lot to talk about. Don't worry about your things; Johnny can take care of them, if I can find the lazy lump," she groused good-naturedly.

The interior of the inn was homey, and Toshiko felt as if she belonged there. Rhiannon steered them all toward the dining room to the left, and they passed through a cozy lobby to get to it. The large panoramic window showed off the lake and the mountains to fantastic effect, and she would have stopped to stare if she wasn't alone.

"I never would have known this village was even here," Kathy proclaimed, seemingly not ashamed to stare like a tourist. "Ianto's told me about it, but this doesn't even compare to his stories."

"I hope this means you'll think of this as a home," Rhiannon answered, ushered them to a table by the large window. "Be back in a sec; I had the tea ready to pour for a bit now. Hope it's not too strong!' She vanished through a discreet door that must have led to the kitchen.

"This place really is amazing," Estelle murmured, her gaze on the view outside, Moses happily purring away in her lap. "There can't be many villages like this left in Wales."

"I can see why Ianto loves it so much here," Toshiko added.

"Can you imagine growing up here?" Toshiko went on.

"It's a quiet village," Rhiannon interrupted, setting a tray down on the table. "Some of the younger folk don't understand why we love it here, but it takes a special sort to appreciate the magic of Ddraig Llyn."

"Five cups?" Kathy noticed. "Is the other Dragon-Friend here then?"

"Not yet," Rhiannon answered, sitting and being 'Mother'. "Although I expect them soon."

"You haven't heard from them then?" Toshiko asked, taking a sip from her cup. It was very good, although Ianto made it better.

"Not a thing," Rhiannon said. Her gaze went out the window. "But I suspect that's her…"

As one, the three others turned to look. A car parked next to Toshiko's, and a woman got out of the driver's seat, accompanied by a boy who looked to be about nine. She had dark hair, and Toshiko frowned, certain she'd seen this woman and son somewhere before.

Rhiannon got up and headed toward the lobby, and the two other Dragon-Friends and Estelle also stood to meet their final member. Toshiko heard Rhiannon's joyous voice greeting the new arrivals, then she brought them into the dining room as well.

"I'm Rhiannon Davies," she introduced herself as she motioned the woman and boy forward. "I'm the Dragon-Friend of Water. This is Toshiko Sato, she's Earth; and Kathy Swanson, and she's Fire. This is Estelle Cole, a good friend and descendent of priests. Welcome to Ddraig Llyn."

The woman looked wary, but she nodded at each introduction. "Hello," she said, after Rhiannon was done. "I'm Alice Carter, I'm Air; and this is my son, Steven."


	4. Before the Fall Chapter Three

Before the Fall - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just playing.

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter of this story. Thanks again for everyone reading this, I appreciate your support.

* * *

_**5 June 2008**_

Ianto had been working non-stop for several hours before the cog door opened, heralding Owen's arrival.

He'd gone through every piece of Rift data they had on file for the last several months, hoping to find evidence that something had come through the Rift. He needed some clue to back up his guess that the Dragons had been intimating that some sort of alien invasion was about to occur. When he'd exhausted what information Torchwood had, he used Toshiko's backdoors into the servers at UNIT to see if anything had been recorded there.

It really was the only explanation. If it was something that humanity was about to do itself, then it would most likely have raised the ire of the Fae, especially if a possible Chosen One was involved. The very fact that they were retreating to the Lost Lands meant this was something dire, and that it wouldn't break any of the Pacts that were in place. Something beyond this planet, though…that would have nothing to do with human-kind, yet would be bad enough to retreat.

As for the Great Dragons…a part of Ianto was glad that Toshiko and Kathy would be safe, but he had to wonder just what the Dragons could do to protect the valley from any sort of attack. He was very much aware that their powers were greatly diminished; he'd heard stories in the past, of the Great Dragons being able to mold the forces of this planet to their wills, with the help of their Dragon-Friends. Ianto doubted that they'd be able to do such again, and really doubted that they could, ever. If that had been possible, then they would have found a way to save his people from genocide.

For hours, he pored over anything he could find, and in the end he had to accept defeat. He could find nothing that would help head off any sort of invasion. Whispering curses in several different languages, he leaned back in Jack's chair, rubbing his neck in an attempt to get some of the stiffness out. His eyes felt gritty from staring at the computer, and he blinked them tiredly.

He looked up as the alarms went off, and saw that it was Owen. Ianto got up, and headed out to meet him.

Owen got the first word in. "You look like shit, Dragon Boy. Did you sleep at all last night?"

Yes, Owen may be a prat, but he did care about his teammates.

"A little," he admitted. "But something's come up."

"Sounds ominous."

"Very much so. Gwen should be in shortly, and I'll explain it all then. In the meantime, I'd like you to check the drugs inventory, and see if there's anything you need. I want enough supplies in case of a siege."

"We expecting something big then?" Owen asked as he headed toward the autopsy bay.

"Pretty big, if the indications are true." Ianto turned back toward the office.

"Oi!" Owen's shout spun him on his heel. "Where's Tosh?"

"That's another thing we'll talk about when Gwen gets here," Ianto answered. "Get that inventory done, yeah?"

Owen gave him a jaunty salute then disappeared into the bay.

Ianto found himself calling UNIT next, after making certain they wouldn't have noticed his poking around their files. He'd found himself on hold as they transferred him to Colonel Mace; Ianto respected the man, and hoped he might be able to convince him without giving too much away…

It ended up being a fruitless conversation. While Mace had been polite, he'd also been dismissive; without any real proof, Ianto wasn't going to get anywhere with UNIT. He put the phone down a little harder than was strictly necessary, out of frustration. He'd have to try the Home Office next; and that was something he wasn't looking forward to. Of all the people he liaised with, John Frobisher was the one he really didn't care for, besides Harold Saxon. It wasn't that the man was offensive or anything; Ianto thought it was simply because he was a consummate politician, and if he was honest with himself he did hold Jack's opinion that politicians were a necessary evil. He was just able to hide it better.

The door opened again, this time ushering Gwen into the Hub. He could put off calling Frobisher for the time being.

He got up, and called out, "Owen! Gwen! We need a meeting in the boardroom in about five minutes. And yes Owen…I'll make the coffee!"

"Bloody well do!" came the answering shout.

Ianto did so, and while the routine usually soothed him, this morning it didn't. All he could think of was how much he missed Jack, and that how he wished his mate was there to lead them. Ianto was afraid that this would be too much for his skills, but he didn't have much of a choice.

Just as he was pouring the coffees, the office phone rang.

Hoping it was UNIT having second thoughts, Ianto left the kitchen, running up the steps to Jack's office. He grabbed the phone off the receiver, barking, "Jones," even before the handset was to his mouth.

"_Ah, Mr. Jones,"_ the somewhat smarmy tones of the new Prime Minister, Harold Saxon, greeted him. _"We're up early this morning. Just the way I like my public servants: bright-eyed and bushy tailed."_

Ianto found himself trying very hard not to grind his teeth, since it might be heard over the phone. "The Cardiff Rift never sleeps, Sir."

"_Very true, Mr. Jones. It's good to see that our civil servants are so diligent. But, to business! I've just received a very interesting report about some very strange activity in the Himalayas that I thought would be right up your alley."_

Ianto felt his eyebrows raise in disbelief. "The Himalayas are a bit out of our jurisdiction, Sir. I think you might get better results through UNIT."

"_I would think Yetis would be something Torchwood would be intensely interested in, all that 'phantasmagorical' stuff in your charter." _He sounded a bit put out that Ianto would even be questioning it.

"I respectfully disagree; Yetis are more in UNIT's purview, since they've dealt with them several times in the past, usually in context with the Great Intelligence. They have extensive files they can refer to."

"_I don't want to ask UNIT," _Saxon said, petulantly. _"I want Torchwood to go."_

"I'm sorry, sir, but I must decline," Ianto said, keeping his tone polite. "Torchwood's remit is for the United Kingdom only; we have no jurisdiction outside the kingdom or its satellites. The Himalayas are not within that remit."

"_I am hereby ordering Torchwood to go to this mission." _

It was like dealing with a child who wasn't getting his way. "I'm sorry, Sir, but the British Government cannot order Torchwood to do anything. We are above the government; only Her Majesty can order us anywhere. You will need to take it up with her, if you wish us to take on this mission. Otherwise, your only recourse is to contact UNIT. Now, I do apologize, but there is a Rift alert and, as you are no doubt aware, we are currently short-handed. Congratulations on your election, and good day." He hung up the phone, ignoring the spluttering noises coming from the handset, not caring that he'd just lied to get off the line.

Ianto sighed, leaning resting his arms on the blotter and then paid his head on his heads. The headache that he'd been nursing since earlier that morning was now banging away, and the dragon desperately wanted to go back to bed.

"You okay?"

He sighed, raising his head to look at Owen, who was standing in the door, concern on his sharp features. Ianto stood, tugging his waistcoat down. "I'll explain in a bit," he said, "let's get things started before the coffee gets cold."

"Cold coffee is a crime," Owen concurred. He turned and left and Ianto followed, stopping off at the kitchen to fetch their mugs.

Owen had taken his seat by the time Ianto arrived. Gwen was sitting in her chair, smiling when a mug was set in front of her. "Thanks," she murmured, taking a small sip.

At least she was thanking him now.

"Let's get started," Ianto said, settling into his own chair. By tacit agreement, no one sat at the head of the table; that was Jack's place. "I was contacted last night by the Great Dragons."

Owen spluttered into his coffee. "Warn me before you're gonna bust out stuff like that!"

Gwen was obviously confused. "What are the Great Dragons?" she demanded. "I thought you were the only one left!"

"I am," Ianto answered. "The Great Dragons are the spirits my people worship. They brought us up out of barbarism and helped us to become a civilized people. There are four of them: Air, Water, Fire, and Earth."

"Is that why Tosh isn't here?" Owen asked. "And is that why you have me inventorying the medical supplies?"

"It is." He recounted what they'd said last night, about the coming darkness. "The only thing I can come up with is some sort of alien invasion," he concluded. "It makes the most sense, given the very little information they actually volunteered."

"I don't get it," Gwen said disbelievingly. "Why are you even taking this seriously? How do these Dragons even know what's going to happen?"

"The Great Dragons aren't bound by time," Ianto tried to explain. "They can usually see certain things, but the future has gone dark for them. They're like the Fae, in a way: where they can move back and forth through the past and future, but the Great Dragons' own power has diminished over the centuries. But, if the Fae are retreating – "

"Good riddance!" Gwen exclaimed.

"This means whatever is causing the darkness isn't something of human making. The only thing I can think of is alien invasion."

"But what does this have to do with Tosh?" Gwen asked. "Why isn't she here?"

Ianto knew this explanation was way overdue, but he simply didn't know how Gwen would react to things. So far, she was doing fairly well, even though she really didn't look as if she believed a word of it.

"Tosh was Named a Friend of the Earth Dragon," he said. "Back when I was young, being a Dragon-Friend meant certain things, but once again the Great Dragons' power has weakened considerably, and it might not mean the same anymore."

"What was that?" Owen asked, curiously.

"A Dragon-Friend could tap into the power of the Dragon that had Friended them," he answered, glad that he'd spoke to Rhiannon and had gotten his facts straight. He'd thought that the power had come from the Dragon-Friends themselves. "Although, I haven't seen any sign of that with Tosh."

"You mean Tosh has been…influenced, by an alien presence?" Gwen asked, sounding outraged. She pinned a sharp gaze on Ianto. "I thought she was your friend!"

Before Ianto could say anything, Owen had jumped in. "It was Tosh's decision," he snapped. "She's proud of being a Dragon-Friend. And she did it because she loves both Ianto and Jack, and would do anything for them. So don't you even think of belittling what she's done, Gwen."

"I'm not!" Gwen denied hotly. "I'm just questioning the fact that people around her put so much faith in dragons and spirits of dragons, when they're nothing but another alien race! Isn't it Torchwood's responsibility to protect humans from that sort of thing?"

"Gwen," Ianto put in, grateful for Owen's support, "as I have often explained, dragons have been on this planet a lot longer than humanity; in fact, we evolved here first. And what you're even saying is beside the point. We've received a warning that something is going to happen, and happen soon. Toshiko was recalled by the Great Dragons, as well as the other Great Dragon-Friends, and whatever is coming they will have a part to play in it, just as we will. We don't know what's coming, so we need to prepare. Unfortunately, we're on our own." He explained about UNIT fairly dismissing his concerns, which led Owen to call them something uncomplimentary.

"And UNIT is…?" Gwen asked, looking confused.

Once again, Ianto was glad that Jack had changed his mind about making Gwen the Torchwood liaison. "UNIT is in the same business: protecting the world from alien intervention. However, they're military, and often have a 'five rounds rapid' policy. However, they're very useful in a fight, and when the odds are way against us. Which, if this is an invasion, they would be."

"Wait," Owen said, "weren't specific protocols put into place after Canary Wharf? Just cause UNIT didn't believe Jack when he tried to tell them the ghost shifts were something dangerous?"

Ianto nodded. "The Bambera Protocols, yes. I tried to enact them, but Colonel Mace is being particularly obtuse. My next step is the Home Office, but that means Frobisher, and I share Jack's opinion on him, which is that I won't get very far with him." He sighed in frustration. "If only Sir Alistair hadn't retired! I also tried Winifred Bambera, but she's unreachable…she and her husband are having their third child, and her adjutant flatly refused to put me through to her." It had been a high-risk pregnancy, so he honestly couldn't blame the UNIT corporal who'd shut him out.

"What about Whitehall?" Gwen asked, sounding somewhat belligerent. Ianto wondered if that was somehow her default setting.

"I was going to bring it up to the Prime Minister before he called this morning," Ianto admitted. "But he thought it would be a really good idea to try to order us to go to the Himalayas and chase Yetis."

"Fucking hell," Owen groaned. "Please tell me we're not going!"

"But it's the Prime Minister!" Gwen argued.

"Torchwood isn't under the orders of the British Government, "Ianto reminded them both. "So no, we're not going. Besides, it's more UNIT's bailiwick than ours, which I kindly pointed out to Mr. Saxon. He didn't seem to appreciate it."

"I bet he didn't," Owen chortled.

"It's disrespectful!" Gwen exclaimed. "You can't just turn the Prime Minister down like that!"

"Yes, I can," Ianto countered.

"That's probably why you had your head down when I came to get you," the medic said.

"Talking to Harold Saxon usually does give me a headache," the dragon admitted. "But this one's been around since my rather interesting awakening this morning." He stood. "All right, we need to get back to work. Owen, you keep up with that inventory. If it gets bad, we're going to need all the medical supplies we can get. There's no idea how many casualties we might need to take care of." Owen nodded, getting to his feet.

Ianto turned to Gwen. "Gwen, I need you to run a supplies inventory; we need to know just what sort of food and materiel we have in the Hub. If we need to take on survivors in the Hub, we'll need to have enough to get by." Gwen also stood, although she didn't look happy.

The dragon didn't care.

"I'm going to take care of weapons and technology," he said. "But I want everyone to keep an ear on the news and police bands. I spoke to Kathy this morning before she and Toshiko left – "

"Kathy Swanson went with Tosh?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"Yes; Kathy is the Dragon-Friend of Fire," he answered calmly. "She contacted DCI Henderson, and he's agreed to cooperate with us when it comes time. If anything, Cardiff will be prepared as best it can be."

They'd have to settle for that, for the time being.

* * *

Ianto was down in the armory when Owen's shouting into his comm. brought him running.

"What is it?" the dragon hit the main Hub at a run, almost skidding to a stop next to Gwen; she and Owen were intent on one of Toshiko's terminals, watching as Harold Saxon finished a speech and stepped down from a podium.

Owen looked furious, and Gwen was pale as milk. "What happened?" Ianto demanded of his teammates.

"Bloody hell," Owen swore, reaching over to punch some keys on the board. "I'm backing this up; you need to see it."

The screen snowed out, and in seconds Owen had the video queued up. Harold Saxon grinned out of the screen, looking just as smarmy as he sounded on the phone.

Owen started the speech.

"_Britain, Britain, Britain,"_ the Prime Minister began, _"What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, the world was so small. And then they came, out of the unknown, falling from the skies. You've seen it happen – Big Ben destroyed, a spaceship over London, all those ghosts and metal men."_

Ianto shivered, he couldn't help it. Saxon was purposely playing on the fears of the people for his own purposes.

"_The Christmas star that came to kill," _the man went on. _"Time and again, the government told you nothing."_

What did he hope to gain in raising the fear levels of innocent humans?

"_Well, not me! Not Harold Saxon! Because my purpose here today is to tell you this – citizens of Great Britain…I have been contacted. A message, for humanity…from beyond the stars." _He signaled someone off camera.

When the sphere floated into view, Ianto knew this was it.

This was the invasion.

This was what the Great Dragons had warned about.

And they were called the Toclafane.


	5. Before the Fall Chapter Four

Before the Fall - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine; never mine.

Author's note: Hello, everyone! Welcome to a new chapter! Thanks everyone for reading, and I hope you continue to like this.

* * *

_**5 June 2008**_

Toshiko really couldn't shake the notion that she'd seen Alice and Steven Carter before.

The fourth Dragon-Friend looked just a little suspicious of them all, and Toshiko couldn't blame her. Here were four strangers, staring at her with various degrees of welcome and curiosity, and from what she could gather Alice really didn't have any idea what was going on. The woman clutched onto her son almost convulsively, until the boy wriggled out of her grasp with an irritated, "Mum!" and it broke Alice out of whatever she'd been thinking about, seeing them all sitting around the table.

"Tea?" Estelle offered, trying to ease the tension.

Alice nodded, and everyone seemed to relax just a little

"My son David is about your age, Steven," Rhiannon said. "I bet the two of you will get along just fine, although I hope you like video games." She grinned. "Sometimes getting him off that game console is like pulling teeth."

"Yes, ma'am," Steven answered, returning her grin.

"It's Rhiannon, dear," she offered. "Or Rhi, if that's easier for you."

Steven nodded. "Okay, Rhi. Yeah, I love video games."

"Then, if your Mam is okay with it, let me show you where David is." She looked at Alice expectantly. "It's perfectly fine. Everyone's a friend here, and we all look out for each other."

Alice's eyes darted to each person at the table, and then back to Rhiannon. She turned Steven to look at her. "Don't beat David too badly," she cautioned, a small smile on her lips.

"No promises, Mum,' Steven answered brightly.

"Come on, you," Rhiannon laughed. "And don't think you'll be finding my David an easy target, young man…" She led him away, out of the dining room and around the corner, toward the stairs.

"Please," Estelle encouraged, "have a seat and let me pour you a cup." She juggled Moses slightly, who didn't seem all that fussed about it, and busied herself with the tea things. Soon, everyone had their own cup, and Rhiannon was rejoining them, slipping into her own seat.

"They'll be fine for hours," she predicted, picking up her own cup. "They're just in the office, which is under the stairs," she reassured Alice.

"Sorry," Alice said, sighing. "I'm just not used to trusting strangers."

"Don't worry about it," Rhiannon said.

"Yeah," Kathy added, "and I'm sure it's not helping that it's obvious we already know each other fairly well. Although, I just met Estelle today."

"And I've just met Kathy and Rhiannon," Estelle replied. "I don't know Toshiko all that well either."

"Maybe we should tell each other a bit about ourselves," Toshiko suggested. "Just what we feel comfortable with."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Rhiannon said. "Besides, I'm sure Alice is pretty confused about the whole Great Dragon thing."

"That's not exactly true," Alice answered. "I've known the Air Dragon since I was about fifteen, and she was always telling me stories about the Great Dragons, and dragon history."

"I've only known for about five months," Kathy rolled her eyes. "And what I know, I learned from Tosh and Rhi."

"Well," Rhiannon said, "I'm descended from the priests and the dragon-friends who've always lived in Ddraig Llyn, so I've been around dragon-lore all my life. And Ianto, of course."

"Ianto?" Alice queried, brows drawing down in a frown.

"You might have heard him referred to as the Last Dragon," Rhiannon answered, somewhat sadly.

Alice nodded. "Yes, the Air Dragon did mention him. You know him?" She sounded almost eager.

"My family was the one who took him in when his family were massacred, and he ran this very inn for centuries. When he left the valley he made me caretaker here."

"Ianto is one of my best friends," Toshiko said.

"And mine," Kathy added.

"As well as mine," Estelle piped up.

"Kathy, Toshiko, and Estelle are Named as his dragon-friends," Rhiannon said. "Which is a bit different from being Named by the Great Dragons."

"I'd love to meet him," Alice said.

"You will," Toshiko assured her. "But he's back in Cardiff, and I think he's hip-deep in a possible alien invasion."

Alice suddenly stiffened. "What do you mean…alien?"

"Did you hear the announcement over the radio?" Toshiko asked. "The one where Harold Saxon claims to have made First Contact?"

"No," Alice shook her head. "I had a CD in for the trip up."

"And you think this First Contact thing is what caused the Great Dragons to call us here," Rhiannon said, understanding dawning.

"Well, they can't see what's beyond this darkness," Toshiko posited. "And from what the Earth Dragon has said, it's happening soon. An alien race seems to have come along and thought it was a really good idea to contact the British Prime Minister. Also, the Fae are withdrawing from this dimension and going back to the Lost Lands, which means what's going on either isn't caused by humanity, or doesn't affect any of the Pacts they've made. Sorry, I don't believe in coincidence; I've seen too much to even consider it."

Alice looked confused. "Fae?"

'There are many powers in this world," Estelle supplied, "and the Fae – or fairies, as I've always known them – are just one of them." A sudden fierce look crossed her friendly face. "I know it has to be bad if they're gone, but after what they did to me and mine I can't say I'm sad to see them go."

Toshiko couldn't blame her one bit.

"If I hadn't seen the Air Dragon and heard her stories," Alice snorted, "I'd be saying you were crazy to think that fairies exist."

"They exist," Toshiko said. "I've seen them myself."

"You've tangled with the Fae?" Rhiannon asked, intrigued.

"Wait," Kathy said, "I think we're getting a bit far afield here. If these Fae don't have anything to do with what's going on, let's just table that subject for a bit and try to figure out what's going on."

"Good idea," Alice said. "Please don't confuse me any more than I already am." She turned to Toshiko. "You're awfully sure that there's some sort of aliens out there. What makes you think that?"

Toshiko paused. She had no reason to hide anything; everyone at the table except Alice knew about Torchwood, so clueing her in made sense. "I…work for an organization that deals with alien races on pretty much a daily basis – "

Alice suddenly stood. "You work for bloody Torchwood!" she hissed angrily.

Toshiko's mouth fell open. "You know about Torchwood?" she asked, her mind going back to the idea that she's seen Alice and Steven before. Had it had something to do with a Torchwood case?

Alice didn't answer. Instead, she stepped away from the table. "I'm getting Steven and we're getting out of here. I should have known _he'd_ have something to do with this! He probably sent the Air Dragon to find me!"

_He?_

It then occurred to Toshiko just where she'd seen Alice before. "You know Jack!" she exclaimed. "That's where I know you from!"

"What do you mean, you know me?" Alice demanded, stopping her backward flight.

"I work for Jack Harkness," Toshiko answered. "A while back, we had a case where we were all being stalked by a time-walking alien being who was trying to get access to our base." She didn't add that Bilis Manger had, indeed, managed to fool them all just long enough to get into the Hub. "He had the entire team under surveillance, and had taken pictures of us…and you and Steven were in a couple of pictures with Jack."

"That bastard," Alice swore. "He put me and Steven in danger!"

"He didn't know," Toshiko tried to calm her down. "None of us did, until we found them. He didn't even tell us who you were." In fact, Jack had confiscated those particular photos and hadn't said a word about them. She wondered if he'd confided in Ianto at all.

"Besides," Kathy said, "Harkness didn't even know about the Great Dragons until recently, and he didn't meet Ianto until 2000. There's no way he would've been able to send the Air Dragon to you at all. Now, why don't we just calm down and talk calmly about this?"

Estelle had a serene smile on her face. "You do look very much like your father, dear."

_Father_?

Now Toshiko could see the resemblance to Jack in her; in her cheekbones and jaw line, and the stubborn look in her eyes. That made sense; Jack had been on Earth for a very long time, there were bound to be offspring out there somewhere.

Although, it seemed a bit out of character for her captain. He'd been waiting so long for the Doctor to arrive, and he'd been willing to push his soulmate away in order to be ready. Why had he even thought about having children, knowing that one day he'd leave them? It just didn't seem like something Jack would do, what with his abandonment issues.

Kathy snorted again. "Trust Himself to be spreading it around."

"Kathy," Estelle said sharply. "Don't pretend to know Jack. He's been around for over a century, and if he got lonely and met someone he wanted to be with, I can hardly blame him. And if anyone had the right to pass blame, it would be me." She smiled up at Alice. "Your father and I were lovers during World War 2. We were going to get married…but fate came between us." She laughed. "He came back into my life claiming to be his own son. Really, I do think he could have come up with a better story that that!"

Alice looked surprised by Estelle's confession. "You…you're not angry at him for leaving you?"

"Of course not," Estelle answered. "Have you ever thought how hard it must be for him, living while everyone he loves dies around him, while he stays the same? How much heartbreak has he suffered because he can't live a normal life? I would never blame him for leaving, when it hurts him so much to stay."

Toshiko felt warmth spread through her at Estelle's words. Here was a woman who had touched Jack's life and had been content to be just a small part of it. She truly understood what Jack went through when he lost his loved ones. She reached over and hugged the older woman with one arm, feeling the tears prickling her eyes. "Thank you for that," she whispered.

"No need to thank me," Estelle answered, embracing her in return and trying to keep Moses in her lap. "You and I…we know what our boys suffer, and we support and love them anyway."

She pulled back, smiling. Toshiko was so grateful that Estelle was there, so grateful that the Earth Dragon had asked her to bring the older woman with her.

Alice sank back down in her chair, looking back and forth between Estelle and Toshiko incredulously. "I can't believe you trust him."

"I trust Jack with my life," Estelle said, "and with my heart. As does Ianto."

"Your father," Rhiannon said to Alice, "is the chosen mate of the Last Dragon. They will be together for all eternity."

"It wasn't always good between them," Toshiko added. "Believe me; I've seen their relationship at its worst. But now…it's different. Completely different."

"Then why did Harkness run off?" Kathy challenged.

"Because Ianto let him go," Toshiko answered. "Because Ianto trusted Jack to come back…and he will." She sighed. "He needed answers. He needed to know just why he can't die. I don't necessarily agree with Jack leaving like that, but I do understand the need to know why you're the way you are."

Alice was shaking her head. "You all have no idea about my father…"

"I think," Rhiannon said, "that you'll find _you're_ the one who has no idea."

"The Great Dragons knew Jack and Ianto were going to meet even before they actually did," Estelle said. "The Air Dragon chose you as a Dragon-Friend in preparation for their union."

"I feel like I've been used all this time!" Alice nearly shouted.

"No, not used, Alice. You _chose_. You could have turned the Air Dragon down, but you didn't. Does it really make a difference now that you know your father has a destiny ahead of him, much like you do? If you'd known back then what you've found out today, would you have said 'no' when the Dragon asked you to become a Named friend?"

Alice looked thoughtful at that question, but didn't answer.

"The Great Dragons gave Ianto a vision," Toshiko went on, hoping she wasn't breaking a confidence, "back when he was only about four hundred years old. It was of his future mate: a blue-gray dragon with laughing blue eyes. The dragon was the exact same shade as Jack's RAF greatcoat, and now we know – from the Earth Dragon himself – that the dragon in the vision was Jack. Now, if the Great Dragons knew all that long ago, can you honestly say that Jack was behind any of this?" She wondered why Alice didn't trust Jack, and was hoping that the woman would share that reason at some point.

"All right," Alice sighed. "I know my dad didn't send the Air Dragon to me. But I still feel like I've been set up, just because of who my father is."

"Of course that's why you were chosen," Rhiannon replied. "Look at us: there's me, who could be considered Ianto's only family, dating back to when the Joneses adopted him. Then there's you; Jack's daughter. We're the two who are most closely related to the Last Dragon and his Mate. We were chosen on purpose because of our relationships with them, plain and simple. Who better to be Dragon-Friends than us? I only wish that I'd known about you sooner, because I would have contacted you directly."

"You're family," Estelle pointed out. "Rhiannon, you and Alice…you're family because of your connections to Ianto and Jack."

"I've always wanted a sister," Rhiannon grinned.

Alice looked completely overwhelmed, and Toshiko couldn't blame her. "Look," she said, "we need to figure out what the Great Dragons want us to do, because I really do think these Toclafane are the reason we've been called here. And, personally, I would rather be with Ianto and the rest of the team. No offense."

"None taken," Rhiannon said. "Your loyalty is one of the reasons the Earth Dragon Named you. But you're right; we need to be ready, whatever's going to happen. And I'm with Toshiko; I think it's with whatever Harold Saxon has gotten up to."

"Recriminations aren't going to accomplish anything," Estelle replied. "I think we'll have plenty of time later to find out more about each other."

"Yep," Kathy agreed. "I personally want to know what the Dragons are up to."

"I think we're about to get your wish," Rhiannon pointed out the window.

All of them turned to look outside.

The window opened out onto a beautiful view of the lake. The sun was glistening on the water, and as they all watched the view was blocked out by four mighty shapes, lying on the grassy bank, their vibrant wings curled against their backs.

The four Great Dragons had finally arrived.


	6. Before the Fall Chapter Five

Before the Fall - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, it's not mine

Author's note: Hello, everyone! I meant to have this up sooner, but you know how real life gets...thanks for your patience, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**5 June 2008 **_

Ianto didn't hear the rest of the press conference, his mind was reeling at what he had seen. _Toclafane_. That was the name of the enemy, the ones the Great Dragons had warned him about. It had to be; there was no other explanation.

"The question is," Owen said, bringing Ianto back to himself, "is Saxon their unwitting dupe…or is he in it up to his manscaped eyebrows?"

"He's the Prime Minister!" Gwen exclaimed. "Certainly he wouldn't be involved in an actual invasion!"

"No," Ianto interrupted her, "Owen's right. The Toclafane are obviously what we've been warned about; we just have to work out if the Saxon needs rescuing…or stopping."

It was horrible to contemplate the idea that one of the most powerful men in the United Kingdom could be responsible for bringing about an invasion from space, but Ianto hadn't truly trusted Saxon almost from the beginning. It was too easy to read too much into that one announcement.

They needed more facts…

"This could also be why Saxon wanted us to go to the Himalayas," Owen pointed out, "to get us out of the way so he could bring in these Tocla – whatevers and take over."

"You're being overdramatic," Gwen scoffed. "Harold Saxon is our duly-elected Prime Minister. There's simply no reason for him to bring about an alien invasion!"

"On the face of it," Ianto answered, "Gwen's right. Harold Saxon is in a position of trust. Bringing down unknown aliens on the planet just doesn't make sense." And yet, the feeling that, somehow, either wittingly or unwittingly, Saxon would be responsible for the coming darkness. "But Owen's right as well. I, personally, don't believe in coincidence, and it would be a very big one indeed of Saxon's 'request' that we go to the Himalayas comes just before this supposed First Contact. He knows very well that Torchwood would have wanted to be there."

"So, he's freezing us out," Owen said. "No pun intended."

Ianto grinned sharply. "I think you can take that as a given. No matter what his motives are." He put a hand on Owen's shoulder. "Our plans need to change. Saxon knows we didn't go to the Himalayas, which means he'll be aware we've seen the broadcast. We need to prepare for any sort of…repercussions."

He broke away from his teammates, and began to pace. "The Hub may no longer be safe. When Jack and I first took over Torchwood Three, there were times when Yvonne Hartman would try to wrest control from us. We set up a contingency plan for a potential attack on the Hub, and it looks like it's time to put it into effect."

He turned to look at the pair of them. Owen looked ready to go out and punch something, which meant he'd do what needed to be done; Gwen still looked dubious, but Ianto could tell that she was at least taking into account the possibility of Saxon's culpability in what could be an invasion of Earth.

"This plan consists of a complete and total lockdown of the Hub," Ianto went on. "This means we become totally cut off from the outside world: no one gets in, and no one gets out, until a certain set of codes is input into mainframe. Only Jack and I know the codes."

Owen was nodding. "Then we get the Hub kitted out for a siege."

"Exactly."

"And we leave the rest of Cardiff to fend for itself?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"I didn't say that," Ianto snapped. "We have an escape route…through the sewers." It had been the same way Ianto had brought Lisa into the Hub.

"Oh joy," Owen said. "We get to play dodge 'em with the Weevils then?"

"I think it would be better that than with whatever those Toclafane are," Ianto answered.

"Too right, mate."

"I don't think it's right, we should be hiding away," Gwen argued. "We'll be needed if this invasion really happens."

"And if the Hub is breached and these Toclafane get in?" Ianto challenged. "We need a safe place, here in Cardiff, where we can fight; if what we're thinking does occur."

"And if nothing happens?"

The dragon shrugged. "Then you have permission to tease me about being paranoid."

"Count on it," Owen snarked. "You're never gonna hear the end of this if the aliens really come in peace this time."

"Well, Jack's fond of saying the 21st Century is when it all changes," Ianto added, shrugging. "This could be it…but I doubt it. I really do think this is going to be bad, and unless we find a way to stop it…"

"Can we try to find out where First Contact is going to be?" Gwen suggested. "If we can get into the actual event…"

Ianto nodded. "You're absolutely right. I think it's time I called Her Majesty."

* * *

Ianto barely refrained from slamming the phone down.

Usually, when he called the Queen, she made time to talk to him if she could. She and Ianto got along quite famously; Her Majesty was very proud of the fact that she had a dragon working for her Torchwood, and would often call him Her Welsh Dragon. Ianto thought Her Majesty was one of the nicest ephemerals he'd had the pleasure of meeting, and he respected her kindness as well as the steel backbone she would show on occasion.

But, today…Ianto didn't even get past a lowly equerry who claimed that Her Majesty was away on family business, and could not be disturbed.

This had happened before; but the day before First Contact? No, Ianto automatically assumed that she was being kept from talking to him…or at least from getting his calls. The dragon didn't think Saxon would actually resort to holding Queen Elizabeth against her will, but to have someone screen her calls…yes, that was very possible.

He was quite worried about her.

Ianto picked up the phone once more, thinking perhaps he should beard the lion in its den, so to speak, and contact someone in Saxon's entourage. He did manage to get ahold of a very nice young lady named Tish, who claimed that the Prime Minister was in a meeting and could not be disturbed. He tried to pump her for information about the Toclafane, but she apparently didn't know a thing about them, which Ianto had thought very interesting indeed.

That left the Home Office…and John Frobisher. Who seemed quite fine with the idea that aliens were going to be arriving tomorrow and that Harold Saxon was quite capable of handling it himself, without interference from either Torchwood or UNIT.

Ianto couldn't help but feel as if he – and the team – were somehow being persecuted.

Then he cursed himself silently, thinking he needed to quit with the pity-party and get on with things.

He left Jack's office, wanting to check on the preparations for what could be a lengthy stay within the Hub. Ianto had already done a partial lockdown, shutting off the Tourist Office from the rest of the base and deadbolt-sealing the cogwheel door. The invisible lift and garage entrance were still open, although Ianto had updated the security protocols on both, making certain that no one could force their way in without the hub going into complete lockdown.

Owen had already gone out, to collect what he could from their medical suppliers. Ianto had several accounts set up in various warehouses across Cardiff, and he was hoping Owen could get what they would need at such short notice.

Gwen was at her desk, inputting everything she'd managed to inventory into the mainframe. Normally, a lockdown like this would shut most of the Hub down; the one that he and Jack had set up would be different, allowing them to run Torchwood as well as being blocked off from the rest of the city. Toshiko had also done her part with developing a way to shunt power from the Rift to keep things going while taking them off the Cardiff power grid. Jack hadn't liked it, and Ianto hadn't either, but it was the only way to make the Hub totally self-reliant in case of catastrophic invasion.

Gwen looked up as he approached. "I want to bring Rhys to the Hub," she challenged.

Ianto considered, then nodded. "If it looks like things are going to go to hell tomorrow, then yes. But not until we have absolute proof that there's a reason."

She looked surprised by his quick capitulation. "You're really going to let me bring Rhys here?"

"I'm not the heartless monster you seem to think I am," Ianto answered quietly. "I do understand how important he is to you, and I would never stand in your way of trying to keep him safe." In the months since Jack had left, Ianto had seen a side of Gwen he didn't think existed: the caring girlfriend, the one who actually loved Rhys Williams as she'd always claimed. She'd even accepted Rhys' marriage proposal, and that night the dragon had sung the Song of Commitment and dedicated it to Gwen and Rhys, and to their future happiness.

"Thank you," Gwen said, smiling.

"You're welcome," Ianto replied. "Now, how about a briefing on what we have ready?"

She nodded, turning back to her computer. Before she could go into anything, however, a small alarm went off at Toshiko's work station. "What's that?"

Ianto headed over, saying as he went, "I set up an alarm for any sort of official broadcasts, not wanting to miss anything." He woke up the main monitor, scanning the channels until he found what the mainframe had warned him about.

And his heart began to race.

"– _they are known to be armed and dangerous," _the BBC presenter said, even as pictures of a dark-haired man, a pretty black woman, and Jack were flashed on the screen.

Jack was back on Earth.

It was the only explanation for the bulletin.

"What the hell?" Gwen exclaimed.

Ianto couldn't stop staring at the screen; he wasn't even listening to the story. _Jack was back on Earth. _ He had to assume that the other man was Jack's Doctor, and the woman the Time Lord's current companion. On an off chance, he snagged her image and began running the recognition software, to see if he could find out who she was.

"Does this mean Jack's back?" Gwen demanded. "And if he is, why hasn't he tried to contact us?"

That was a good question. Ianto couldn't imagine Jack being home, and not attempting to call the Hub…to call _him_. "I don't know," he confessed. "Unless something's keeping him from it."

"What has he supposed to have done? All it would say was 'acts of terrorism'."

Another good question. Ianto went to work, trying to find out anything about his mate and his traveling companions. He wished Toshiko was there; she could navigate these programs so much easier than he could, but he'd have to do his best.

"Damn," he muttered after a few minutes, "there's nothing."

"Nothing?" Gwen asked, incredulously. "You can't just declare someone a terrorist without evidence."

"The order comes directly from the Prime Minister's office," Ianto growled. Another nail in Harold Saxon's coffin.

"Who are the other two?"

"I'd have to say the Doctor, and whoever he happens to be traveling with at the moment." A soft ping announced a hit on the facial recognition software. Ianto opened the window. "Ms Martha Jones, a medical student," he read from the picture identification that shower up onscreen. He scrolled through the information brought up. "She was involved with that vanishing hospital. I'm guessing that's how she met the Doctor."

"You mean Jack's Doctor? The one he left us for?" Gwen snorted. "No wonder he didn't reach us then."

Ianto barely managed to keep from rolling his eyes. "He still would have called if he was able to."

"You have a lot of faith in Jack."

"Yeah, I do." He smiled slightly, believing in Jack when he said he'd be back.

"I wish I had that sort of faith."

Ianto glanced away from the screen, giving her a knowing look. "Jack cares about us all, Gwen. He only left because he had to. Yes, it's been a long time, but I doubt he meant to be gone this long. He'll be back, I guarantee it."

She didn't look convinced, but at least she wasn't arguing with him.

Perhaps rumors of a possible alien invasion could iron out some of their differences.

* * *

The Hub was quiet.

Ianto stood by the water tower, looking out over the darkness that had descended over the place that could very well become their living space as of tomorrow. He'd sent Owen and Gwen home, for perhaps their last bit of peace in the coming days.

It was as if everyone was against them. No one would answer him about where the First Contact was going to be; the only clues he'd been able to find were some chatter on the UNIT channels and the sudden routing of Air Force One to London. There was also a single comm. call saying that the _Valiant_ was also enroute to London, and to Ianto's mind that would be the perfect place to hold a First Contact scenario.

It would also explain why UNIT was bulldozing him; the notion of being onsite for First Contact had to be a tempting one, and with the long-standing rivalry between UNIT and Torchwood the dragon could see UNIT wanting to get the upper hand.

He would be heading to London early, in order to see if he could get onboard the _Valiant._ Torchwood needed to have a presence there, and Ianto was the head of the Institute as long as Jack was on leave.

As for his mate…Jack was out there somewhere, and Ianto was willing to bet he knew more than the dragon did about what was going on. He'd come to realize that another reason to get them out of the way was that Saxon had somehow known about Jack's involvement and had wanted to get Torchwood out of the way in case he appealed to them for help. Had Jack somehow become convinced that they were out of his reach? Ianto was willing to bet that was the case.

He sighed. He missed Jack, and knowing he was out there somewhere, and in danger, hurt. Ianto had no idea where he was, or how to get in touch; he'd tried Jack's mobile, and had gotten a weird warbling tone in his ear for his troubles.

The dragon was about to head down to the hoard room in order to get a little rest, when Toshiko's computer chimed, signaling an incoming email. Heart hammering, Ianto practically raced to get it, hoping against hope that it was Jack and that he'd found some way of getting in touch…

Only to find an encrypted message waiting for him, from someone named Vivian Rook.

It took no time at all to decode, and Ianto let it play, trying to recall who she was. He thought she was some sort of journalist, and that was confirmed in her message.

"_If I haven't returned to my desk by 2200, this file will be emailed to Torchwood. Which means, if you're watching this, then…" _ The older woman on the screen cleared her throat. _"Anyway, the Saxon files are attached. But take a look at the Archangel document…that's when it all started. When Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network…"_

Ianto pored over the attached documents, worry growing. Saxon had wanted Torchwood to implement the Archangel Network into its systems, and Jack had flatly refused, insisting that their encryption programs were the best there could be, and it would be a cold day in hell before he had them integrated into a public network.

By the time he was finished, Ianto knew that Jack had to have these documents. He chewed his lip, wondering just how he was going to get them to his mate…

And when he finally realized how, he grinned. And then was pissed off at himself for not thinking about it before.

Ianto made copies for mainframe, and then gathered them all back together under Vivian's original encryption. He logged into Jack's personal files – he'd been given the password when Jack had told him he was waiting for the Doctor – and scanned through the files for the one he needed.

The one for Jack's Vortex Manipulator.

There wasn't a lot of information in the actual file. Jack himself had claimed he didn't know much about Manipulator maintenance, but Ianto took that with a grain of salt, only because he was well aware of just how much Jack _did_ know about future tech. However, the dragon had been willing to accept that Jack couldn't fix it _now_, simply because of the knowledge that his mate wouldn't have hung around on Earth if he could go anywhere and anytime.

There were times when Jack developed a strange sense of humility. It was usually when he didn't want to admit to knowing something.

However, as little information as there was in the actual file, there was the one thing he needed to know.

The communications frequency.

Ianto was grinning and not even realizing it as he input the frequency. He suddenly stopped, knowing he couldn't send this on without letting Jack know they were all right.

So, after typing in a quick message, Ianto attached it to the files and sent it on, hoping he got everything right.

And somewhere in an alley in London, a certain Vortex Manipulator beeped.


	7. Before the Fall Chapter Six

Before the Fall - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry

Author's note: Next chapter, hurray! Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

_**5 June 2008**_

The four Dragon-Friends and Estelle left the inn, walking as a tight group toward the lakeside. Out of the corner of Toshiko's eye she could make out the villagers of Ddraig Llyn accompanying them, and she wondered if any of them had ever seen the Great Dragons before. Then she dismissed it, knowing that Ianto had once said he hadn't since his sister's mating ceremony, and that he'd lived almost his entire life in the village.

She'd only seen the Dragons before in a half-formed state, although the Fire Dragon had seemed a bit more solid than her dealings with the Earth Dragon. Now, though, the four appeared as solid as Ianto did, although very much bigger.

The Air Dragon was a vibrant blue, with a single white horn protruding from her scaled forehead, almost like a unicorn's. Her calm gray eyes watched as they approached, and a sudden twitch of her wings caused a sudden breeze to flutter their clothing.

The Fire Dragon sat coiled beside the Air Dragon, her orange-red scales seeming to dance with small, internal fires. She was different from the fiery creature who had appeared in Toshiko's lounge, but she could feel the heat the Dragon was radiating against her face. Laughing green eyes crinkled and she lifted a giant hand in greeting, a puff of steam rising from the white claws.

Next was the Water Dragon, glittering aquamarine scales shimmering in the sunlight. He nodded, his eyes rippling like wind-whipped water. He smiled, revealing teeth as long as Toshiko's forearm, and a rich laugh echoed over the gathering.

And then, there was the Earth Dragon.

The enormous brown and green dragon was the largest of the Four. Eyes as dark as the underground regarded them all closely, and a horned head – with actual moss growing from the horns – nodded in welcome. He gestured with a powerful forelimb for them to come closer, and Toshiko found herself smiling as she did so, coming up to stand right in front of the Dragon who had asked her to become his Friend.

"_Welcome, Dragon-Friends,"_ the Earth Dragon said warmly, his voice sounding as if he were speaking through an avalanche. _"Welcome to Ddraig Llyn. I would hope that, in some part, you would enjoy your stay here, but with the darkness coming that may be uncertain."_

His gaze met each of the Dragon-Friends, and Toshiko for the first time truly felt the sheer timelessness of the Great Dragons. These beings had existed on the planet for millions of years, before even the extinction of the dinosaurs. She wondered what it would be like to see the turn of all those years, and it suddenly struck her that Jack and Ianto would, someday, be as old as these Dragons were now.

It about broke her heart.

"_In days long past,"_ the Earth Dragon went on, _"the Great Dragon-Friends were chosen with care, for they would share in our power. You were also chosen with great thought, but the reasons have become a bit different. While our powers have faded greatly over the millennia, you four have been granted such small gifts as we can afford. However, that was not the main purpose of our choice."_

"It's because of who we know," Toshiko surmised.

The Air Dragon laughed. _"You would be correct, Child of Earth. You are all connected in some way to our only living son, and his mate."_

"If I'd known you came to me because of my dad," Alice spat, "I never would have agreed to it."

"_I am sorry you feel that way, Child of Air," _the Earth Dragon answered sadly. _"Your father is a great man, who has a horrifically long life ahead of him. Humans were not meant for immortality, and without support he would go mad. Do you want that for him?"_

Alice's anger seemed to part for a healthy dose of confusion. "Of course not! But he's hardly a great man. Just because he doesn't die, doesn't mean he's anything special."

"_That is not the reason Jack Harkness is special," _the Water Dragon answered. _"It is what he is going to accomplish that makes him great."_

"_You see a flawed man," _the Fire Dragon continued. _"We see that as well, but we also see what he will aspire to."_

"_You see the man who is blamed for all of your troubles," _the Air Dragon said. _"Surely even you know there are two sides to every story?"_

Alice didn't look very convinced, but she was quiet.

"_Darkness is coming," _the Earth Dragon reiterated. _"It comes quickly, and we need to prepare."_

"It's an alien invasion," Kathy said. "We heard on the radio on the way up here that there's some sort of alien race coming tomorrow."

The Fire Dragon nodded. _"While we could not make out the nature of the darkness, this indeed makes sense, with the Fae choosing to leave for the Lost Lands."_

"Why did you summon us here?" Toshiko challenged. "You never really gave me much of an answer."

"Yeah," Kathy put in. "You four have made us drop our lives to come here. And what's worse…you made us leave our friends. Both Tosh and I would've preferred to stay in Cardiff, where we're needed. I might not be Torchwood, but I'm a copper who has a duty to the people of my city. And, if something bad is really coming, then we should be helping."

Toshiko was glad that Kathy was backing her, but then she'd gotten an earful from the detective on the trip up. It was a bit different ranting at something not present, than to the actual person you want to rant at.

"_As we have said," _the Earth Dragon answered, _"our powers have diminished in the years since our children have all gone. But here, in this valley, is where we are the strongest."_

"_We cannot stop what is going to happen," _the Fire Dragon said, _"but we can work to make Ddraig Llyn a haven for people who need it during the dark times. To do that, we need your assistance."_

"How can we help?" Rhiannon asked.

"_We have it within our slight power to make this valley undetectable to outside eyes," _the Air Dragon replied.

"Like a perception filter?" Toshiko asked, her mind ticking over the possibilities. A natural perception filter would make Ddraig Llyn the best possible place to plan any sort of resistance to invasion…there were things she'd need to bring in, but she knew from Ianto that there were such things as internet and mobile phone coverage in the village…yes, they could make this work.

"_I am not familiar with that term, daughter," _the Earth Dragon said. _"But I understand your meaning. Yes, it is like that. It will be as if the valley no longer existed."_

From the look on Kathy's face, Toshiko guessed she'd come to the same conclusion that she had, and her words confirmed it. "We can run any sort of fight from here and no one would be able to find us."

Something was bothering Toshiko, though. "But why would you have us come here, and not Ianto or the rest of my team? We have the experience to deal with alien incursions, and a safe base would be ideal for that."

"_They will be needed outside in the world," _the Fire Dragon replied. _"While we cannot see much beyond tomorrow, that is something that we do know."_

"You're just going to leave them out there, at the mercy of whatever's coming?" Toshiko was growing angry, even though the Earth Dragon had told her pretty much the same thing when he'd come to fetch her.

"_Some things must come to pass, in order for the future beyond the darkness to continue as it should," _the Water Dragon said.

"_We cannot see if your family will not, some day, come to the valley as well," _the Air Dragon tried to soothe her.

"I'm sorry," Kathy denied, "but that doesn't cut it. Sure, you told us that you needed us here, and that we had to come, but you can't expect us to just follow blindly. You also can't expect us to forget our friends."

"Wait a second," Rhiannon interrupted, looking at her fellow Dragon-Friends. "Shouldn't we be looking at the bigger picture here? Shouldn't we be willing to protect the innocent, instead of thinking of ourselves?"

"I'm not thinking of myself," Toshiko snapped. "I'm thinking of my friends, and how they're on the front lines of a possible Armageddon!"

"But they can defend themselves," Rhiannon pressed. "They know what to do when the darkness comes. The majority of the people out there won't. Those are the people who're going to be looking for a safe place, and it's gonna be us who'll be responsible for that."

"That's all well and good," Toshiko argued, "and I understand the need to help those who can't do it themselves, but I'm afraid hiding away in a secluded valley isn't going to do much unless there are those out there who know this place is here. We're not going to be able to do a lot of good if no one knows we're here."

"_There is more to consider," _the Earth Dragon cut across the argument. _"As I said before, you were all granted small gifts based on your Friendships with us. While you are not aware of them, they are much a part of you. However, those gifts have weakened us further, and we need you all here if we are to protect this place. This does not preclude you aiding those outside this valley as you are needed; you simply cannot leave until the danger is past."_

"_Plus,"_ the Water Dragon said, _"you are our Named and Marked Dragon-Friends. Our Pacts with you mean that we will protect you with all that we can. But we cannot do that if you are anywhere beyond this place."_

All right, it was at least some form of explanation that Toshiko could understand. She vaguely wondered what sort of power the Dragons meant. She certainly didn't feel any different. "All right," she said, "I'll stop arguing about it. I do understand the need to protect people; after all, that's what I do. And I also accept that my friends might be needed in Cardiff, even though I don't like the idea that I abandoned them. But even you have to admit that you can't protect anyone if they can't find the place."

"_We understand your concerns, Child of Earth," _the Fire Dragon answered. _"But we also trust you all to do what needs to be done, even if you cannot leave until the darkness is lifted."_

Toshiko nodded absently. She really did need equipment if she was going to be keeping an eye on the outside world…"I have to make a run out," she said, "and I'm going to need finances to get a few things."

The Air Dragon laughed. _"I believe we can aid you there."_

"_But hurry back," _the Earth Dragon warned. _"As of nightfall, we must prepare. And Toshiko…?"_

"Yes?"

"_Thank you for accepting what must to be done. We would truly do nothing to cause intentional harm to either our son or your friends. Your support of them does you credit."_

"I just can't help feeling guilty about leaving them out there, to fend for themselves, while I'm stuck here in this valley." She did, and she vowed that she'd help them as much as she could, from the valley.

There was no way she was going to let them fight on their own.

* * *

They barely made it back before the sun set.

Johnny Davies had lent Toshiko his van, and then ended going with her to help with lifting…plus, he knew the way to Bangor, which was a three-hour drive from Ddraig Llyn. It took them awhile to get what Toshiko thought she'd need to set up her own command center.

As for funds, the Great Dragons had been right; that was the good thing about having a hoard. The village was flush with cash, in many different forms, all of it something to do with what was left of Ianto's hoard. Toshiko did wonder just how they managed to sell all that gold without it doing something to the market…

The sun was sinking below Pedair Dreigiau as the van made its way back into the village. On the trip Toshiko decided that she quite liked Johnny, and she was quite certain that a lot of Rhiannon's complaining of him being lazy was just teasing. She also had time to think about her strategy, and the first thing she wanted to do was connect to the Torchwood dedicated server.

It would be easy; after all, she knew the backdoor into mainframe, and had set up the ability to go remote if needed. In fact, she had planned on going to Ianto and Jack – when Jack came back, that was – and to suggest setting up a remote site in case the Hub had become compromised. She was aware of the total lockdown procedure, of course, and she could assume that Ianto would be preparing to do just that. She trusted her Second to realize what was going on with the so-called Toclafane, and that he would have the team's safety in mind. As bad as she felt about leaving, she knew Ianto would do everything in his power to protect them, and the innocents in Cardiff.

It was still hard to accept, though.

Johnny pulled up in front of the inn, where Toshiko would be setting up. Rhiannon had agreed that it was the best place, with the technical innovations Ianto had brought in with him during the time he ran the place. The dragon had also seen that things would be updated regularly, and Toshiko's PDA had given her all the data she'd need to set up her in-exile network.

She and Kathy both felt that coordinating with Torchwood would be the best thing. Toshiko was certain that Ianto would have gotten more information by now, and once things happened then she'd still have her backdoor into mainframe. It did help that the detective felt the same as she did; Rhiannon had taken the big picture very seriously, but Toshiko knew that the big picture wasn't always the best way to see things. The devil was in the details, as her university advisor had been fond of saying.

Her technical frame of mind wouldn't let her disregard the details.

Saving people was fine, and Toshiko would always want to do that. But they needed information on what was going to happen, and being stuck in isolated Ddraig Llyn meant that getting that would be hit and miss until she could set up some sort of network.

You couldn't save the people without knowing how to go about that.

Toshiko hadn't wanted to argue with the Great Dragons, but at least it had gotten her what she'd needed. They needed the Dragon-Friends there, because of their power. Not that she felt like she had any power at all. In fact, she felt distinctly powerless as she and Johnny began to wrestle her equipment into the inn. The Earth Dragon could have said that in the beginning, instead of guilting her into coming there in the first place. She just had to accept that the Dragons were so used to speaking in riddles that it was too hard a habit to break.

"Let me help," a familiar voice said.

Toshiko smiled as she saw John Ellis. "Thanks," she greeted warmly. She grabbed her own box, and led John into the inn. "I heard about your son; I'm sorry."

Ianto had told her that Alan had passed away in the spring, and she'd been deeply sad for the time-lost refugee. His son had been the only thing he'd had left, and to lose him so soon…

He smiled sadly at her. "We did get to spend some time together, and toward the end I think he did know who I was, so that was good." He put the box he was carrying down amid the others that she and Johnny had lugged in. "Do you really think there's some sort of invasion coming?"

Toshiko nodded. "I do, yes. That's why I got all this, so we have some sort of chance of helping outside the valley."

"If there's anything I can do to help," John said, "then let me know."

"I will," she promised, surprised at the changes in the man. He'd been so belligerent before, but now, it was as if his son's death had settled him somewhat. Or perhaps it was being accepted among these people that had helped him come to grips with what had happened. Any way it was, she was glad to see it.

"The Dragons," Rhiannon interrupted, coming into the lobby. "They're back."

Together, Toshiko and John left the inn, heading toward the lake. The Great Dragons, who had left after their announcement before, had reappeared, but this time they were in their wraith-like forms once more.

"_It is time," _the shadowy shape that was the Earth Dragon said. _"After tonight, the valley will be all but invisible to anyone who did not know where it was."_

The stars had come out, glittering coldly in the darkening sky. As soon as the Earth Dragon had spoken, swirling clouds had begun to form over the peak of Pedair Dreigiau, looking as if a storm front was forming over the mountain.

A song began to echo over the valley, the four Great Dragons singing their power into effect. Suddenly, Toshiko could feel something within her rising, and the mark on her shoulder began to itch, and she had to resist reaching back to scratch. Before she knew it she had begun to hum, and her other fellow Dragon-Friends as well, even though she didn't know the tune that was coming from her mouth.

The clouds fanned out, cutting off the stars. Only the lights from the houses along the lakeshore illuminated the valley now, as Ddraig Llyn was magically cut off from the rest of the world.

The power thrummed along Toshiko's nerves, and she felt a hand on her arm; turning, she saw John Ellis staring at her in shock, and she smiled at him reassuringly even as she continued to hum. She couldn't stop though, not to give him any verbal assurance.

A hand slipped into hers, and she turned away from John to see Kathy standing next to her. She squeezed the other woman's hand as they kept up the song, and her eyes looked up to see the last of the stars vanish behind the cloud.

The song faded away, as did the energy that the Dragons had called up. And yet, there was still something left, and Toshiko could sense it at the back of her mind, signifying that what they'd done had worked.

"_We have done all we can," _the Earth Dragon said, his voice sounding weaker than usual. _"We must rest, but we shall return when we can. The safety of us all is in your hands, Dragon-Friends. Thank you."_

With that, the Great Dragon vanished.

Leaving Ddraig Llyn under its magical shield, hidden from all eyes.

Toshiko hoped it would be enough.

Now, she had work to do.


	8. Before the Fall Chapter Seven

Before the Fall - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own this, sorry.

Author's note: Sorry about the delay in getting this up, real life and all that...

* * *

_**5 June 2008**_

Jack was tired.

For him, it had only been about a day since he'd left Ianto on the Plass to jump onto the TARDIS and eventually end up at the end of the Universe. For him, it had been a day of non-stop action; he'd died twice, been in a chamber of radiation that should have killed him, run for his existence Goddess-knew how many times, and had traveled through time twice …once in the worst way possible, the other rougher than he'd recalled due to having two passengers. And he'd come back to an Earth where four months had passed, and it wasn't even to Cardiff…it was to London.

Now, he was on the run from a power-mad Time Lord who'd somehow gotten himself elected Prime Minister. Seemed like Ianto had been right not to trust the man, after all.

He practically collapsed onto the crate he'd found in the dingy alley where he, the Doctor, and Martha had found a rough sort of shelter. It certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd lived on the street, and there didn't seem to be much difference in the experience today as there had been back in the 1800's, except for the distinct lack of horse dung.

Jack wondered where Ianto and the team were. At least he knew they were still alive, if the Master had been telling the truth about sending them on some wild-goose chase to the Himalayas. The problem was, he didn't believe it. He knew his Second; knew he wouldn't just haul ass off to another country because Harold Saxon had said so. First because Ianto didn't trust Saxon as far as he could throw the Hub; and second he wouldn't accept anyone else's control over Torchwood. If the Queen had ordered it, Ianto might have considered it, but Jack still doubted that Ianto would have taken the team out of Wales on something that would have seemed like a whim.

No, the only thing that would have gotten Ianto to leave Cardiff would have been in Saxon had dangled another dragon as bait…but the Master didn't know what that would have meant to his mate, since he didn't know Ianto's history.

At least he was fairly certain he didn't know Ianto's history.

Jack twisted the ring on his finger, as he halfway listened to Martha saying she was going to try to get them something to eat. Jack had to admit, he was really hungry, and he hoped a little food would give him some of his strength back.

The Doctor was messing with the laptop they'd taken from Martha's flat. Jack had tried to call Ianto from there, but for some reason it had gone into some sort of voicemail, one that he was certain wasn't Ianto's. But then, perhaps he'd changed it in the months Jack had been gone...

Jack wanted to go back to Cardiff. It was an impulse he could only control by telling himself that he needed to fix what had happened. He blamed himself for awakening the Master, even though the TARDIS had communicated that it had to happen, and that she knew it was supposed to occur the way it had. Jack could hear Ianto now, telling him not to wallow, but he couldn't help it.

It didn't help that his own self-worth had taken a serious blow by the one person he'd pinned his hopes on to make things better. Instead of helping, the Doctor had called him 'wrong' and had insulted him even as he'd used Jack as his own version of cannon fodder. His skin still tingled slightly from his exposure to the stet radiation.

Jack wanted his mate. He wanted to be able to curl up beside his dragon and draw comfort from Ianto's unwavering presence. He wanted to trade barbs with Owen; talk tech with Toshiko; hell, he'd even take a roaring row with Gwen. Anything, as long as he was back with the family he'd created within Torchwood.

He'd been lost in his thoughts and almost missed Martha returning. The smell of normal, fried chips tickled his nose, and his stomach growled as he accepted the portion she handed him. "How was it?" he asked, reaching for his first chip.

Martha gave the Doctor his share, then took a seat next to Jack. "I don't think anyone saw me. Anything new?"

He waggled his wrist so his coat would slide away from his Vortex Manipulator. "Got this thing set to official channels, but nothing's really going on." It had been one of the first things he'd done when getting back to Earth, but to be honest Jack didn't expect it to pick up much of anything. Once Saxon has announced the coming of the Toclafane most channels had gone to radio silence, and the only thing he'd been able to pick up was a broadcast about a change in course for the _Valiant._

"Nothing about my family then?" Martha asked, deflating.

The Doctor looked up from the laptop. "Just that the news says the Jones family was taken in for questioning. Nothing about Leo, though."

"He's not as daft as he looks," Martha said, proudly. Then she snorted. "I'm talking about my brother on the run. How did this happen?"

Jack recognized a rhetorical question when he heard it. "Nice chips," he decided to say instead. A part of him wanted to shovel them all in, but he could practically hear Ianto rolling his eyes at his table manners…or lack thereof.

"Actually," the Doctor chimed in, "they aren't bad." He was busily eating his own chips with relish.

Martha bumped Jack's shoulder, and when he looked at her she glanced at the Doctor meaningfully. Jack rolled his eyes; after everything, she honestly expected the Doctor to open up for him? "So," he jumped in with both feet; after all, could the Doctor get any more dismissive of him? "Just who is the Master? How did the ancient society of Time Lords create a psychopath?"

"And what is he to you?" Martha added curiously. "A colleague…?"

"A friend at first," the Doctor admitted slowly.

"I thought you were gonna say your secret brother of something!"

Both Jack and the Doctor stare at her, and Jack couldn't help the snort that escaped him. "You've been watching too much TV," the Time Lord accused almost playfully.

Martha laughed half-heartedly, and Jack could tell she'd taken the Doctor's words too seriously. He felt sorry for her; it was obvious she had a thing for the Time Lord, and Jack knew from first-hand experience that it would never go anywhere.

Jack turned back to the Doctor. "But all the legends say Gallifrey was perfect."

"Perfect to look at, maybe," the Doctor answered. "And it was beautiful." He leaned back in the chair he'd managed to scavenge, and began to describe his homeworld in such detail Jack could easily imagine it. It made him sad that such majesty had had to come to an end, and despite the anger and humiliation he'd had to go through since meeting the Time Lord again, Jack actually felt sorry for him.

He wondered if the Doctor and Ianto would find being the last of their races something in common enough to bring the two ancient beings together.

Then Jack selfishly decided he didn't want them to meet at all.

"What about you?" Martha asked, spellbound, as the Doctor described the ceremony of the Untempered Schism.

"Oh, the ones that ran away," the Doctor said, grinning widely. "I never stopped."

That didn't surprise Jack one bit, having been on the receiving end of the Doctor's running.

He was about to make a comment on just that subject when his Vortex Manipulator beeped.

Jack frowned, flipping the device open. "Encrypted files," he murmured.

"Patch it through to the laptop," the Doctor said, pushing the computer in front of Jack.

Well, this was about to get interesting…"As long as we're telling stories," Jack quipped, sending the files to the laptop.

The Torchwood logo began to spin on the screen.

"You work for Torchwood," the Doctor accused, taking a step back as if Jack was going to morph into something nasty. "Everything Torchwood did…and you're a part of it!"

Jack felt his anger rekindle. He glared at the Doctor. "I didn't have a choice," he growled.

"There's always a choice."

"Yeah, right," Jack snarked. "I was found by Torchwood because of _you_, Doctor. They found out I'd traveled with you, and decided to grab me and question me. Of course, it didn't hurt that the Torchwood Lesbians found me right after I'd died. It was either work for them or be tossed into a cell to rot…and that was when I wasn't being experimented on. It was all because you abandoned me on the Gamestation, Doctor. All because you ran away." He knew he was being somewhat unfair; after all, it had been Jack who'd gotten drunk and had talked out of turn, but he desperately wanted to hurt the Time Lord in some way after the Doctor had hurt him. "I did stay, because I didn't want to leave Cardiff in case you showed up. But I did manage to change things along the way, and when I took control I cut us off from London. Torchwood One fell to the Daleks and Cybermen, and I took over the entire Institute, and changed it in what I thought was your honor. But nothing I could ever do would make me right instead of wrong. Now I wonder why I bothered to live up to any of your ideals at all."

Martha was staring at him in surprise, and yet at the same time she looked proud of him. The Doctor was equally as shocked, but his seemed to be more like when a dog that'd been previously friendly had bitten and drawn blood.

Jack felt a warm rush of victory, and turned back to the laptop to scan the files that he'd downloaded. There was a recording, which he played.

"_If I haven't reached my desk by 2200 hours,"_ the woman on the screen said, _"this file will be emailed to Torchwood…"_

As he listened, Jack could feel the Doctor slowly come closer, no doubt drawn by his curiosity in what had been sent. Jack wanted to sigh, but stifled it. He couldn't understand now why he'd been so certain that the Doctor could help him. He should have just stayed home, stayed with Ianto. He hadn't really needed answers when he'd had Ianto.

He perused the documents, while the back of his mind played with the thought that he really had no idea how the documents had been sent to his wrist strap. Yes, he'd often forwarded his phone to the Vortex Manipulator, but he'd never done it with email.

"What's the Archangel Network?" the Doctor asked.

Martha pulled her mobile from her pocket. "I've got Archangel. Everyone does."

"It's the mobile phone network," Jack explained. "And look…it's gone worldwide. They've got fifteen satellites…even the other networks are carried by Archangel." Suddenly he was quite glad he'd vetoed installing the Torchwood network on Archangel. This was bad…

The faint whirr of the sonic screwdriver sounded just behind Jack, and he turned in time to watch the Doctor poking around within the innards of Martha's phone. "Ah ha!" he exclaimed. "It's in the phones! Oh, I said the Master was a hypnotist!" He tweaked something. "Wait, wait, wait! Hold on…" He smacked it against the crate they'd been using as a table, and a beeping sound came from it. "There it is…that rhythm. It's everywhere, ticking away in the subconscious."

"Like mind control?" Martha looked and sounded appalled.

"No, no, no, no! It's more subtle than that. Anything stronger and people would question it!" The Doctor began to explain his that hyper way he had, and Jack thought back to Ianto's distrust of Saxon from the start. He wondered if that signal, after the Archangel Network had been activated, had made Ianto more convinced while everyone else just fell in love with Saxon. Jack knew he'd thought Saxon was a pretty good guy until Ianto had said otherwise. Now he knew they were just all being controlled in some way, but it hadn't worked on his mate. "Is there any way to stop it?" Jack asked.

"Not from down here," the Doctor answered absently, still messing with Martha's phone. "But now we know he's doing it…"

"We can fight back," Martha declared.

The Doctor spared her a grin. "Oh, yes!"

The Time Lord plunked back down in his chair, happily taking Martha's phone apart. Jack went back to the documents that had been sent to him, trying to find out anything he could about the Network. There was also proof that Harold Saxon didn't exist before eighteen months ago; so, the Doctor had been right when he'd claimed that he'd jammed the TARDIS' navigational controls as the Master had escaped from the future.

As he came to the end of the file, he found a note addressed to him.

When he saw who it was from, he couldn't help but grin like a maniac.

_Dear Jack;_

_We're all fine. I know you're with the Doctor and Martha Jones, and I know you'll be trying to stop Saxon just as we are. We've had a warning from our favorite matchmaking friends, and we're preparing. I'm initiating Protocol LD-Prime as of first thing in the morning. We'll hunker down and help as many as we can._

_I received these files, and thought you might find them interesting. Also, I'm certain that First Contact is going to be on board the _Valiant. _Been listening to the chatter to and from Air Force One, and it appears that President Winters isn't happy about Saxon's disregard of Security Council Protocols. On the home front though, things are very quiet. AF1 is due to arrive at Heathrow in three hours._

_Be safe, Jack. I miss you. Come home soon. House and Hub are empty without you._

_Ianto_

Jack was so relieved that Ianto and the team were all safe. He was glad that they were going to enforce the lockdown protocol in order to keep themselves and the Hub safe. And the information about the _Valiant_ only reinforced his own belief that the airship would be where the so-called First Contact would take place. It was as close to neutral territory as could be found at such short notice; plus it could be guarded and full surveillance could be held on the occasion.

The term 'matchmaking friends' had Jack confused for a few seconds before he realized that it was code for the Great Dragons. He wondered just what they'd warned Ianto about, since the note didn't actually reveal that part. Knowing them, it had been cryptic and couched in terms that could only be figured out after the fact…

"Is that him?" Martha's voice broke into his thoughts.

Jack looked at her. "Hm?"

"The one you left in order to get your answers."

With a sudden scraping noise the laptop was pulled in front of the Doctor, who examined the message over his black-rimmed glasses. He made a 'humph' noise then closed the laptop, flipping it over and using the sonic screwdriver to take it apart.

Jack wished he'd saved the message to his wrist strap. Instead, he recorded a quick message, sending it back along the same data track that the note had been sent on, hoping that Ianto would hear it.

He turned back to Martha. "Yeah, that's him," he answered. "Ianto. He's my Second at Torchwood Cardiff. We'd only been together officially for a few months before I left, but we'd already decided to commit to each other. He gave me this," he showed her the ring Ianto had gifted him the night before the Doctor had returned.

"I'll need your TARDIS keys," the Doctor interrupted.

Jack wondered just how Rose could have loved him, the insensitive prat.

Both he and Martha handed them over, then went back to their conversation. "It's gorgeous," Martha said, complimenting the ring. "So…how did you meet?"

"I met him nearly eight years ago, on the side of a Welsh mountain," Jack answered, grinning. He trusted Martha, but for some reason he didn't want the Doctor to know that Ianto was a dragon. "He ran an inn in a tiny Welsh village. I knew almost right away that I wanted him to be a part of my new Torchwood."

He explained a little about Torchwood Cardiff, describing his team. "But it wasn't until just after Canary Wharf, when Torchwood One fell, that I realized how much he meant to me. He was the one to encourage me to look for my answers. I just didn't expect to be gone so long."

"Once we get the Master sorted," Martha said, "you can go home again."

Jack hoped it would be soon. He wanted to be with his dragon again, more than anything.

"Here we go," the Doctor interrupted once more, this time sliding their TARDIS keys back to them. Jack picked his up; there was a strange blob of technology welded to the key, and the Time Lord had looped a length of string through the hole. "Three TARDIS keys," he announced, "three pieces of the TARDIS with low-level perception properties because the TARDIS is designed to blend in." He paused, then shrugged. "Well, sort of. Anyway, the Archangel Network has its own low-level signal. Weld the key to the network, and…" He directed a smirk toward Martha. "Martha, you see me…yes?"

"Yep," she answered, confused.

"What about now?" the Doctor asked, slipping the key over his head.

For Jack, nothing changed. He was too used to the perception filter on the invisible lift to really notice anything. But Martha apparently did, because of the confused look on her face.

"It's like I know you're there," she struggled to explain, "but I don't _want_ to know you're there."

"And back again." He removed the key. "It just shifts your perception just a bit. Doesn't make us invisible, just unnoticed. Oh, I know what it's like: it's like when you fancy someone and they don't know you exist. That's what it's like!" The Doctor grinned manically. "C'mon then; work to do!" He grabbed his coat and headed off down the alley, leaving Jack and Martha to simply stare at each other.

"Yeah," Jack sympathized. "Used to be like that myself."

"But you found Ianto," Martha said.

"I did," Jack agreed. "And, someday, you'll find your Ianto too. And trust me, Martha…it's not _him_."

"I know, Jack." She took a deep breath. "Shall we? Before he gets too far ahead."

Jack offered her his arm, and she accepted gladly. Together, they followed the Doctor, slipping on their perception filters as they joined the Time Lord.


	9. Before the Fall Chapter Eight

Before the Fall - Chapter Eight

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, sorry.

Author's Note: This is the last chapter for this story. Next up, The Dragon and the Nightingale. Thanks to everyone for reading and I hope you enjoyed this!

* * *

_**6 June 2008 **_

Toshiko took her coffee and sat at her new workstation, the comforting hum of well-running electronics surrounding her.

The inn was dark, except for the one area her equipment had been set up in. Johnny had found a heavy-duty wooden table that he said they'd had in storage and had last been used for a local wedding. It would have usually seated six, but the two large flatscreen monitors took up most of the space, set on angles so she could between the two with little effort. One PC CPU was set up between them, while another happily warmed her feet. She wasn't too fond of the keyboard, but it had been the better of the two that had come with the towers, and the mouse she'd decided on was quite nice.

It had taken her hours last night to get things set up to her demanding specifications. Yes, the processing power was no patch on the Torchwood mainframe's but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She was just glad that the funds were there for her to buy all this, because it would be a lot more difficult fighting an alien invasion with just her laptop.

Difficult; but not impossible.

Her own laptop was networked into the cobbled together system, and Toshiko knew she'd be relying on it more than the rest of the set-up. It had the codes and accesses that she'd need to get into the mainframe; but it didn't have the processing power she'd need despite the upgrades she'd given it over the years.

Toshiko took a sip of her coffee, enjoying the quiet as she booted everything up. She'd worked well past midnight to get everything the way she'd wanted it, and it had taken the combined efforts of Kathy and Estelle to get her to finally go to bed. Toshiko felt refreshed, glad that she'd let her friends force her to rest for a couple of hours. But she was also used to working Torchwood hours, and was up before anyone else. She'd get everything networked to the Hub before anyone was up, and she'd be ready to go by sunrise.

Well, if there was an actual sunrise. The clouds that the Great Dragons had summoned blocked out pretty much anything, and it was only her watch that told Toshiko that it was still far too early in the morning for the others to be up and about.

Fingers moving between laptop and keyboard, the technician made and secured her connections, and before long the stylized "T" of the Torchwood server was rotating on all three screens. Grinning, Toshiko made her way deeper, using her codes to make a direct connection to the mainframe, the oddly twisting strands dancing across her screen in a familiar pattern that made her feel a little less alone.

The first thing she did was check her internal email; and sure enough, there was one from Ianto. It was time-stamped 0320; Toshiko glanced at her watch and saw that was a little under three hours ago. She was going to have to have words with him about getting more sleep…

She read the email, frowning at its contents.

_Toshiko:_

_I know you, and I know you'll connect back to the server as soon as you can. I want to keep you updated, not being certain you know what's going on._

There was mention of the press conference where Saxon had claimed First Contact would be happening; she knew about that, so skipped past it.

_I'm certain this is what the Great Dragons were warning us about, and so I'm going to try to get to London to find out exactly what's going on. I can't get straight answers from anyone, and even Her Majesty seems to be incommunicado, which has me very worried. That, and the fact that Saxon obviously tried to get rid of us by sending us off the Tibet…well, if Owen can grasp what that means, then I'm certain you can, as well._

Yes, she could. Wanting to get Torchwood out of the way would be what she'd have done, if she'd wanted to lead some sort of alien invasion. While Torchwood wasn't at all like UNIT, they'd beaten off incursions that would have made even the hardest UNIT solider freak out.

_There's something else: Jack is back on Earth, and he's apparently involved with whatever's going on with Saxon. He, the Doctor, and a young woman named Martha Jones have been declared public enemies, and are on the run._

That made Toshiko sit back and take a deep breath. Jack was back, and he was being pursued. Which of course gave Saxon another reason to get rid of Torchwood: they'd go after their leader, and do their utmost to help him.

_I've attached some files that you might want to look over; they came from a journalist named Vivian Rook, who'd been investigating Saxon. I specifically want you to look over the information on the Archangel Network; it looks as if Jack was right about refusing to have mainframe connected to it when Saxon had asked._

She opened the attachment, her eyes scanning the documents enclosed. As the ramifications of what she was reading hit her, she cursed under her breath. No wonder Saxon had won the election in such a landslide, if this was indeed true…

Toshiko would have to definitely hack into the Archangel Network now, just to see how it ticked.

_I did get these files to Jack via his Vortex Manipulator, as well as a message saying we were safe. He also managed to contact me, and from what little he'd been able to say it's a foregone conclusion that Harold Saxon is going to lead an alien invasion this morning. According to Jack, Saxon isn't even human. Ms. Rook does allude to Saxon's mysterious appearance 18 months ago, despite all the information that's supposedly online about his entire life, and that jibes with what Jack said. _

_He and the Doctor and Ms. Jones are in London now, and they're also going to try to stop Saxon. Which is another reason I want to go: I miss him, Tosh. He's my mate, and I need to help him. I've set up the Hub to go into Protocol LD-Prime precisely at 8am this morning, and Owen and Gwen both know how to get in or out when needed. Once I find Jack I'll be going back to the Hub myself. Hopefully I'm just being horribly paranoid but I get the feeling that just stopping Saxon isn't the answer. The darkness is still coming, and we have to be prepared. _

_Be well, Toshiko. I'm glad you're safe, but I know you: you'll be ready for almost anything. _

_I hope to see you soon._

_Ianto._

Toshiko sighed. She desperately wanted to call Ianto and tell him not to go to London, but she didn't dare; the Archangel Network had been set up to also be able to spy on calls, and she couldn't take the risk of tipping anyone off to Ddraig Llyn or her friend's plan. And, he'd already have left the Hub in order to get to London on time, so she wouldn't be able to send a message that would be guaranteed to get to him.

It was obvious that Ianto would be walking into danger.

There wasn't a thing she could do about it.

Sighing again, Toshiko pulled back up the files Ianto had left her, wanting to get a deeper insight into the person who was apparently their enemy.

Harold Saxon.

"How long have you been up?"

Toshiko practically jumped out of her chair. She'd been so immersed in her work that she hadn't heard Kathy approach, or smelled the fresh coffee the detective was carrying.

Toshiko relaxed, stretching her back. "Since about 6am," she answered truthfully, accepting the offered coffee. "Thanks I need this."

"It's not a patch on Ianto's but it has the requisite caffeine in it." Once she had a hand free, Kathy pulled up another chair, joining Toshiko at the workstation. "Anything interesting?"

"You could say that." She explained about Ianto's message, and the files that he'd included. "I've done some snooping around, and that journalist was right: the Archangel Network does carry some sort of imbedded signal. It's very subtle but it's there."

"Can you hack it?"

Toshiko shook her head. "I hate to say, but it's beyond me. The network is very much alien-based technology, and I think at this point it's up to the Doctor and Jack."

"And Jones is going after Harkness." Kathy sighed. "Look, I know you all forgave Harkness for running off, but I still have problems with it. Now Jones is off running into danger for him…"

"That's what being in love means," Estelle's calm voice answered. The older woman came to stand beside Kathy, holding a mug of her own. "You help the one you love, no matter what."

Kathy rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I _have_ been in love before," she answered. "It's just that Jones is walking straight into danger, even though he knows it, and he knows that Harkness can take care of himself."

"Ianto can take care of himself as well," Estelle said. "And yet, I think we can all honestly say we'd leave here to make our stand with him, if we could."

Estelle had a point. Toshiko couldn't help but nod. She'd had her disagreements with the Earth Dragon over just such a subject. "I thought about contacting him and asking him not to go, but by the time I found a message he would have already left, and I didn't trust the mobile network." He explained the story once more, and as she was beginning Rhiannon joined them, along with Alice.

"I heard on the radio that Saxon's First Contact is gonna be broadcast this morning at 8am," Rhiannon said, once Toshiko was done.

She nodded. "That's when Ianto was going to trigger the prime lockdown of the Hub. Whatever's going to happen, I'd be willing to bet that's when it will be."

"The best telly is in our lounge," Rhiannon said. "It's going up on time; we should head there to watch."

Together, the four Dragon-Friends and Estelle trooped into the living space where Rhiannon, Johnny, and their family stayed. It was in an area behind the inn, with access through a discrete door from the office. A large-screen television took up nearly one wall in the fair-sized lounge, and Rhiannon motioned them all to sit on either the sofa or the chairs, while she stood against the wall, messing with the remote.

The TV turned on, and it just happened to catch the end of a news broadcast.

"– _thirty seconds_," the newsreader was saying, _"we'll be going live for First Contact."_

She droned on, but Toshiko wasn't really listening. Her heart was pounding fit to burst, and she nibbled on a fingernail absently. This was it…whatever 'it' was. Alien invasion, certainly; but just what would Saxon and the Toclafane do? She felt the anxiety and the worry build, until it was almost hard to breathe.

But, when the newsreader cut to the scene, it wasn't Harold Saxon that greeted them: it was the President of the United States, and Toshiko knew she shouldn't be surprised to see him there. She'd tapped into the air traffic control comms, and had known that Air Force One had diverted to Heathrow and that President Winters hadn't been happy at Saxon's handling of the situation.

"_My fellow Americans," _the man began, and if a man could have been smarmier than Harold Saxon, it was the U.S. President, _"patriots, people of the world…I stand before you as an ambassador for humanity, a role I will undertake with utmost solemnity. Perhaps our Toclafane cousins can offer us much, but what is important is not that we gain material benefits, but that we learn to see ourselves anew…"_

"He's talking a right bunch of bollocks," Rhiannon scoffed. Alice snorted into her mug, and Kathy shook her head ruefully.

"He's a politician," Toshiko quipped. "What do you expect?"

Then she got a closer look at the screen, and her heart stopped.

Jack was there.

Toshiko could see him clearly, standing at the side of the room with a man and a woman, who had to be the Doctor and Martha Jones.

Estelle saw them too, judging from her suddenly leaning forward. "How are they not being seen?"

Her question brought everyone's attention to the screen. Winters was still speaking, but Toshiko let it drone on, not listening anymore. Estelle was right; no one seemed to be paying any attention at all to the trio, as they made their way closer to the front of the room. Jack leaned over to speak to the Doctor, and the Doctor answered, Martha saying something in return. "Some sort of perception filter?" Toshiko mused, although she had no proof of that. It simply made sense, with the lack of noticing the crowd was actually doing.

"I don't see Ianto, though," Kathy pointed out.

"I don't either," Rhiannon said.

"He must not have been able to get in," Toshiko replied. "I'm sure he would have tried to." She only hoped his attempts hadn't garnered Saxon's attention. She was afraid of what he would do if he managed to get a dragon under his thumb.

"_You are not the Master," _one of the Toclafane whined, in a creepy, child-like voice. The very sound of it made Toshiko shiver.

"_We like the Mister Master," _another said, sounding just as petulant.

"_We don't like you," _a third complained.

The three Toclafane orbs bobbed around, one of them dive-bombing Winters, making the President duck hurriedly. _"I…"_ he ducked again as another shot over his head, _"I can be Master, if you so wish. I will accept Mastery over you, if it's God's will."_

Despite the horribleness of the situation, Toshiko couldn't help but snort at just how inane that sounded.

"_Man is stupid."_

"_Master is our friend."_

"_Where is my Master, pretty please?"_

The childish tones took on an evil sound, and Toshiko was suddenly very glad that she was safe in the valley, watching this on television. There was just something so very wrong about the floating orbs, it made her nerves spark and her brain cringe away from what it was being forced to process.

The five women watched as Saxon identified himself as the Master, his own voice and features twisting into something insane, his words rambling and yet there was a horrific purpose behind it, and Toshiko found herself grabbing onto the nearest hand…which was Kathy's, as the detective sat beside her on the sofa. Kathy's own hand spasmed around Toshiko's own, grasping tightly.

Everything happened so very fast.

Winters was murdered by one of the Toclafane.

The Doctor was captured, whatever that had been hiding him from the crowd obviously not working on Saxon.

Jack was killed…which drew a gasp from Alice, and Toshiko put her hand over her mouth to stop her own gasp.

And then, Saxon did something to the Doctor, and the once-handsome Time Lord was reduced to an ancient, crippled form.

Although Toshiko wasn't paying all that much attention; everything she had was focused on her boss…her friend. She saw Jack revive, then pass something to Martha Jones. She shook her head, as if denying what he told her.

Three people were dragged in; Saxon identified them as Martha's family.

And then, suddenly…

Music played.

Toshiko recognized it as "Voodoo Child."

She would never be able to hear that song, ever again.

Saxon gave the order for the Toclafane to attack.

A sudden squealing sound came from outside the room, making everyone jump. Toshiko was out of her seat at once, running out of the room and toward her computer set-up in the outer lobby.

She slammed into her chair, fingers dancing along the keyboard even before she was completely seated.

What she saw made her let out a single heartbroken sob.

"What is it?" Kathy demanded, her hand coming down on Toshiko's shoulder.

"The computer was set to monitor the Hub's systems," she explained, swallowing yet another sob. "That includes the Rift Manipulator…" No, she didn't want to say it. To say what she was seeing would make it too real, and Toshiko didn't want to make it real…

The hand squeezed comfortingly. "Please, tell me."

Toshiko looked up at her friend, unable to stop the tears that traced their way down her cheeks. "I don't know what caused it," she confessed. "But there's a major Rift storm brewing…" She pulled in a large, whooping breath, then tried to speak again…but the words wouldn't come. Horror choked her, and Toshiko shook her head, unable to continue.

"Just say it, Tosh," Kathy urged quietly. "Tell me what's happening."

Toshiko looked into her eyes, taking the strength she found there. "Cardiff gets Rift spikes all the time," she explained. "But this…this is unnatural. It's a Rift storm so strong the readings are off the charts. It's like…the Rift has been affected by…I don't know what. Something has disturbed time and space, and it generated a storm so powerful…Cardiff isn't going to survive it."

It felt like she was calling down doom on her home. But that was what the readings were telling her; that the Rift was about to sweep through Cardiff like a cyclone, and nothing was going to get through the disaster that was about to happen.

Arms wrapped around her, and Toshiko accepted the comfort Kathy offered. Then others embraced her, and within that warm cocoon of friendship Toshiko cried…for her lost home, for the lost innocents…

And for her lost friends. For Owen and Gwen, whom Ianto had locked down in a Hub that soon would no longer exist.

For the dragon himself, who'd gone to London to find Jack…and who'd obviously failed. Where he was, Toshiko did not know.

She had a feeling she wouldn't know for a long time to come.


	10. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter One

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Dsclaimer: I don't own it, I would have treated it better.

Author's Note: Here we go, the next story in the Year of the Toclafane. This takes up toward the end of the Year, and we get to find out what happened to everyone during the Master's reign. I wanted to thank everyone who has been reading this, and for all the alerting and favorite'ing. It's really appreciated!

* * *

_**Three-hundred fifty-two Days into the Year of the Toclafane**_

The dragon was awakened from dark dreams by a familiar voice calling his name.

He opened his eyes, stretching his neck to ease some of the kinks out of it. The hold of the cargo ship wasn't an ideal place to sleep, but at least he'd been able to transform back into dragon-form in order to do it. That luxury had been one he'd not enjoyed as much as he would have liked, in the year since he'd been traveling; it had been too difficult to find places where he could hide, and that had meant he'd been restricted to human form. The dragon had always been uncomfortable sleeping in his ephemeral form, but there'd been no way he could have gotten away with anything else, in some of the places he'd found himself.

Glancing down, he gave his traveling companion a dragon-smile. "What is it?"

Martha Jones didn't smile, but he could tell she was excited about something. "We're just passing Beardsley Island, and the captain thinks we should reach Criccrieth a bit after nightfall."

The crossing from Ireland had been quiet, and it had allowed the dragon to get some much-needed rest. The Toclafane had only harassed the freighter once; but when they'd realized the ship was carrying supplies for the Master's shipworks outside of Liverpool, they'd let them continue on in relative peace. Of course, they hadn't known of the two unauthorized passengers tucked away in the hold…

The dragon didn't want to, but he triggered his change into human form. Ianto gave another stretch, then sighed. "There should be someone waiting for us when we put ashore," he said. They'd gotten word through judicious use of Jack's wrist strap as to their destination. The vessel they were on wouldn't risk straying from their course for long, and the dinghy that would be taking them to the beach would have to leave just right after offloading to avoid patrols.

It would be good to set foot on Welsh soil once more.

"It's almost over," Martha said, grinning slightly.

A small shiver of excitement went up Ianto's spine. It had been nearly a year since Harold Saxon – the Master – had taken over the Earth. Nearly a year of being exiles from their own countries, walking the world in order to put the Doctor's plan into action.

Nearly a year of his mate being held by a sadistic maniac.

Ianto had tried to find Jack; he really had. He'd gone to London at the beginning of it all, in order to stop Saxon from whatever it had been that he'd been planning. He hadn't even made it on board the _Valiant_; instead, he'd been held up by UNIT bureaucracy, and he'd been in the middle of a fierce argument with an idiot UNIT captain when the world had ended.

He'd stumbled across Martha Jones completely by accident; he'd been trying to track Jack's Vortex Manipulator by using his PDA, and had found it being worn by the Doctor's companion. He'd gotten the entire story from her – after they'd both made it to cover – and it had been Ianto's intention to go and get Jack immediately.

Only the Vortex Manipulator's teleport function had been locked.

That one fact had led Ianto to be on the freighter that was currently making its way along the Welsh coast, ostensibly heading toward Liverpool and a rendezvous with one of Saxon's ship-building facilities, carrying raw materials for the construction going on there. There'd been no way for Ianto to have gotten onboard the _Valiant_ to rescue Jack – and the Doctor, if he'd been so inclined – since the Master would have known him just from Torchwood alone. It was the first time in he couldn't remember how long that he'd wished he could change his human form as a way of disguise.

He'd hated the idea of leaving Jack in the hands of a mass-murdering maniac, especially after Martha had claimed that the Master had known about Jack's immortality, but he'd really had no choice. And, while he didn't think much of the Doctor's plan, it was the only one they had.

The only good thing to have come out of this was his meeting Martha. She was like a breath of fresh air; strong and determined, and yet there were things she was still innocent about, even after nearly a year on the run. She'd been a bit surprised that her traveling companion had been a dragon, but she'd coped at once, accepting him for who he was. He'd Named her within a week, and he was glad to have her as a friend.

Ianto offered her his arm; grinning, Martha accepted, and together they headed up to the main deck of the freighter. They weren't the only thing being smuggled into Great Britain; there were also medical supplies in a hidden hold deep within the ancient-looking vessel. The ship's captain – a short, bulky older American named Jack Dalton – had been working for the Resistance since the beginning, using his freighter to bring in contraband as it made the circuit between New York – now called New Saxon – Cork, and Liverpool. They, themselves, had been on the ship from America, although they'd put in at Cork and had traveled Ireland while waiting for the ship's return trip, getting their message out to whoever was willing to listen.

The dragon had found himself liking the jocular ephemeral, and Captain Dalton had regaled them with stories of his adventures. He'd become involved with the Resistance just after his best friend had – "Mac had always been the hero type," he was fond of saying – and he'd quickly rallied a well-working smuggling network. And, although he often claimed he felt more at home in the air than on the sea, Captain Dalton ran a tight ship, and his people respected him.

The sea wind whipped their hair as they set foot onto the open deck of the freighter. Together Ianto and Martha made their way toward the wheelhouse, dodging the various crewmembers as they worked on the deck.

The sun was lowering toward the horizon, and the first of the evening stars were just appearing. Ianto took a deep breath, knowing the danger would be coming as the sun set, when the Toclafane were really on the lookout for suspicious behavior. He wondered where the _Valiant _was; Ianto rubbed the leather strap that had been on his wrist ever since his first meeting with Martha, and once again hoped that Jack would be all right for a few days more.

The pilot house was warm as they entered. Captain Dalton turned from where he was perusing his instruments, giving them a bright smile that was barely hidden by the brushiest mustache Ianto had ever seen. "Welcome, fellow travelers," he greeted them, going back to his work. "Welsh coast, just ahead."

Ianto and Martha joined him, and the dragon looked out over the water toward the blurry silhouette of his home. He could feel the calling of it, the thrumming in his veins as his birth country came into view. "Home once more," he murmured, not bothering to keep the longing from his voice.

"The men are loading up the dinghy now," the Captain reported. "We got the signal from Cherry Blossom, and she says there'll be a truck waiting for you at the meeting place."

Cherry Blossom…it was what the Resistance had taken to calling Toshiko, from her command post at Ddraig Llyn. Ianto couldn't wait to see his friend again, after so long…nor his home valley, where he and Martha would rest for a couple of days before starting out on the final leg of their journey.

"Thank you, Captain," Ianto said sincerely. "We appreciate the lift."

Dalton waved off his thanks. "Just doing my bit. The sooner we kick Saxon's ass, the sooner this planet gets back to normal…and the sooner I get my friend back."

The Captain had explained that his friend Mac had gone on a mission to destroy a foundry outside Los Angeles and had never made it out. That had led him to tell more stories, and while Martha had been a bit skeptical of the Dalton's friend's abilities, Ianto had found it completely plausible that a person could indeed jury rig a cab to drive itself only using a ball point pen, a paperclip, and a set of shoelaces.

"The Doctor's plan will work," Martha said reassuringly.

"I've seen a lot of strange things in my time," Dalton said, "so when you tell me that having faith in one person, at precisely the right moment…well, let's just say I'm willing to try anything."

Ianto had his doubts, but he'd seen the power of faith, and knew it could take an impossible circumstance and make it come out all right in the end.

Besides, anything would be worth it if he got his mate back, safe and sound.

The Vortex Manipulator beeped, and Ianto flipped it open, pressing the one button he knew would work. He grinned. "Go ahead."

"_Welcome home," _Toshiko's voice came tinnily from the tiny speaker.

"It's good to be home," Ianto answered. "Our captain says everything is ready for us?"

"_You'll be met on the beach, at the coordinates we agreed on," _she agreed. _"I can't wait to see you."_

"Me too." He may have spoken to Toshiko many times over the previous year, but he hadn't seen her since the night she'd left for Ddraig Llyn, when she'd been called home by the Great Dragons, and their conversations were always short and mostly to the point. He just wanted to sit down and talk to his friend, if only to ask her how she'd managed to hack into Jack's personal files and get the wrist strap's frequency.

The door opened, and one of the crewmen stuck his head in. "The dinghy is loaded, Captain," he reported, before leaving.

"Hey, Gorgeous," Dalton called out, loud enough to be picked up by the Manipulator's speaker, "We're about ready to go."

Toshiko was obviously smiling from the tone in her voice. _"Thank you, Captain. As much as I've enjoyed our conversations, may I say that I hope never to hear from you again?"_

Dalton laughed; a deep, rich laugh that almost reminded Ianto of his missing mate. "No offence taken," he answered. "I feel the same. It's been a pleasure working with you."

"_Likewise. And Ianto, we'll be seeing you shortly." _ There was a small click, as the connection was broken.

The dragon flipped the wrist strap closed, not bothered by the abrupt sign-off. The last thing they needed was for Saxon to somehow trace even that tiny signal. "Thank you, Captain Dalton," he said, holding his hand out to the man. "I do hope you get your friend back."

Dalton took the offered hand. "If this works, then I will. I just wish I'd be able to remember it afterward. It would be a great story to tell Mac when this is all over." Then he seemed to consider. "Or maybe not."

Ianto couldn't help but agree.

* * *

The beach came up on them suddenly out of the darkness, and the dinghy scraped the sandy bottom of the sea when it was close enough.

Ianto jumped from the boat quickly, taking one of the ropes with him, not caring that his boots and trouser legs were getting soaked with salt water. The only light was coming from the stars overhead; the lantern that had been used to signal the boat had been dimmed, and the dark of the moon was upon them, but Ianto had no problem seeing the shore and the two shapes waiting for himself and Martha to come up onto the beach.

He helped haul the dinghy up farther onto the beach, the hull making a loud noise as it scraped across the sand. Ianto kept alert for any Toclafane patrols; they couldn't risk getting caught now, not when they were so close to their goal. One of the crewmen who'd accompanied them started unloading the boxes of medical supplies they'd brought with them, and one of the two waiting Resistance members joined in unloading the boat quickly.

"Well, Dragon Boy," a familiar London drawl greeted him, "seems you've been up to all sorts of trouble without me to watch your back."

Ianto's heart threatened to burst, but he wasn't about to tell Owen Harper that he was overjoyed to see him. Owen had been in the sewer tunnel leading to the Hub when the Rift storm that had devastated Cardiff had happened, and had managed to ride out the worst by making his way through the sewers and out somewhere near Grangetown. Luckily the storm hadn't ravaged that area, and Owen had dodged Toclafane patrols, eventually meeting up with the new-born Resistance.

They hadn't heard anything from Gwen, though, and Ianto despaired that she hadn't survived the destruction of Cardiff.

"Good thing Tosh didn't tell me it was you meeting us," Ianto drawled, lugging a rather large crate up the beach, "else I would have stayed on the freighter."

"Yeah, glad to see you too." There was an undertone of affection in Owen's voice, and it made Ianto smile to hear it.

There was a sound of tires crunching on stone, and a battered Land Rover pulled up, a tall, gangly, scruffy-looking man jumping from the drivers' seat almost before it had stopped moving. He began helping, taking a box from Martha and shoving it into the back of the vehicle. Even in the darkness Ianto could see the sheer hero-worship in the man's face. "Who's your friend?" he asked Owen, slinging his box into the Land Rover's boot.

"Tom?" Owen leaned against the side of the vehicle. "Fellow doctor, actually, and a pretty decent bloke. We've been working together for about six months now. Used to be in paediatrics, but alien invasion trumps taking care of babies."

Owen had a point.

They got the Land Rover loaded, and the dinghy headed out, after Martha and Ianto bid farewell to the sailors. They piled into the car, the two travelers in the back; Ianto knew that, as doctors, Owen and Tom had permits to be out, but he and Martha were fugitives from Saxon's so-called justice, and any Toclafane that caught sight of them would attack on sight.

Tom fully introduced himself as Owen drove them up the beach, and the dragon couldn't help but notice that his eyes seemed to look more at Martha than him. Ianto barely hid a smirk, although he was also sad that, after things changed back, unless Tom Milligan was somewhere shielded, he wouldn't remember Martha at all.

"Have you found Professor Docherty?" Martha asked, leaning between the two front seats in order to address both Tom and Owen.

Owen nodded. "She works in a repair shed, Nuclear Plant Seven. It won't be a problem to get you and Dragon Boy in there."

Martha snickered. "Ianto's told me about you, Owen Harper."

"Nothing good, I hope."

"Trust me Owen," Ianto snarked, "it was only the worst sort of gossip imaginable."

"That's good," the medic snorted. "I have my reputation to maintain."

Martha's snicker turned into a full-on giggle.

"The famous Martha Jones, walking the Earth in order to save it," Tom joined in, "known to all as the Nightingale, and she giggles like a ten-year-old girl who just saw her parents snogging. I think my dreams have just been shattered."

"Oi!" Martha cried, smacking Tom on the arm. "Enough of that, mister!"

Ianto joined in on the laughter. "Tom, you're going to fit right in with this crew," he said. "I'm not sure that's such a good thing, to be honest."

"Too right," Owen said. "Sorry, mate."

Ianto leaned back in his seat, basking in the easy camaraderie that flowed through the cabin of the Land Rover. After a year of traveling, things were finally looking up, although the worst was really about to begin.

But first, Ddraig Llyn.

And home.


	11. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Two

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, I would have treated it better

Author's note: Welcome to this chapter! I hope everyone's enjoying this so far, and thanks for those who enjoyed the Jack Dalton cameo in the last chapter. He just demanded to be included!

* * *

_**Three Hundred fifty-three Days into the Year of the Toclafane**_

A soft knock on the closed door awoke Toshiko from the light doze she had fallen into.

She sat up in bed, just as the door opened and Kathy's head appeared around the jamb. "They're here," she murmured, giving Toshiko a small, warm smile.

Toshiko nodded, returning the smile, throwing off the duvet that she'd pulled up over her bare legs. Climbing out of bed, she reached for her jeans, which she'd thrown haphazardly at the foot of the bed when Kathy had insisted she get some rest. Toshiko had fought it, but Kathy was a queen of the puppy-eyes, and she'd been completely unable to resist.

Pulling on the rumpled jeans, Toshiko left her bedroom, passing close enough to Kathy to touch…which she proceeded to do so. They'd gotten so very close over the last year, and Toshiko had to smirk at the notion that Jack wouldn't have to be jealous of Ianto taking the detective to lunch anymore…once they'd saved him and everything was back to normal, of course.

Together, they headed downstairs. It was still late…or very early morning, depending on how Toshiko wanted to look at it, but the inn was bustling as news of the travelers' arrival circulated. The smell of coffee wafted up the stairs, and Toshiko inhaled deeply; Rhiannon's coffee was good, but she was hoping that Ianto would have time to make them some before he and Martha headed off to complete the last part of the Doctor's plan.

Toshiko herself wasn't too sure of that plan. She'd had time to look at the Archangel Network, to poke around the various parts she could get to, and while she understood the overall achievement the actual technology was way above her. She hated admitting defeat, but she knew her own limits. The Network was tech from so far into the future that Toshiko doubted anyone could truly figure it out.

Perhaps not even the Doctor, although she would wait and see. The deadline wasn't that far off now, and if it didn't work then there were alternate plans in place.

The inn's door was open, and Toshiko went through it, knowing that Kathy was right behind her. In the darkness of the starless and moonless sky, everything outside the lights of Ddraig Llyn was in shadow. Within the circle of lamplight outside the inn a battered black Range Rover had parked, and the doors had been flung open to release the passengers within.

Toshiko had eyes for only one.

Ianto hadn't changed at all. He still looked the same, except for the shadows that floated in his ancient eyes; they were darker, and filled with more knowledge of pain that anyone should ever have. The black outfit he wore accentuated his Welsh paleness, making those eyes seem much bluer than they really were. He smiled as he saw her, his arms opening to greet her.

Her bare feet not feeling the cut of the drive's gravel, she moved toward her best friend and wrapped her arms around him.

Ianto hugged her back just as hard, a quiet laugh echoing in her ear. "I'm so very glad to see you," he whispered.

Toshiko didn't say anything, and it was with a great deal of reluctance that she let him go, and gave Kathy her turn. Her eyes prickled with glad tears as she watched them embrace, so very happy that Ianto had survived everything that had been thrown at him during the last year.

It had been hard on them all, but Toshiko couldn't imagine having to walk the world and seeing everything he had. It was bad enough being in Ddraig Llyn and getting the various news feeds, but to witness it firsthand…she wanted nothing more than to wrap her friend up in another hug and never let him go.

But she wouldn't have a choice in that.

Ianto broke away from Kathy just enough to keep one arm around her, and with the other he dragged Toshiko back in. The dragon's internal heat warmed her in a way physical intimacy couldn't, and she leaned into his body as if it were her anchor and shield.

"It's good to be home," Ianto said, looking around with shining blue eyes.

"It's good to have you home," Rhiannon answered, joining them. "It's been a hard, long year."

"It has." His voice rumbled through his chest, and into Toshiko like a rock fall. "We have much to discuss, but first I want to introduce you all to Martha Jones."

A crowd had gathered, and curious eyes turned to the attractive woman who had gotten out of the Range Rover. She was also dressed all in black, but there was a hardness about her that Toshiko realized must have been gained from their year in hell. She wondered what Martha had been like before all this, and it was just one more thing to mourn.

Ianto handled the introductions, beginning with the Dragon-Friends. When he got to Alice, he paused, and Rhiannon took over. "This is Alice, and she's the Friend of Air."

Of course, Toshiko had mentioned that there was a fourth Dragon-Friend, but hadn't talked about her much, if at all. Even though she'd managed to crack the encryptions on Jack's wrist strap – once she'd figured out that Martha had taken it in her escape from the _Valiant_ – there'd always been the chance that the Master could have been listening, and so hadn't revealed anything about their fourth member.

Ianto was looking at her closely, and Toshiko wondered if he'd known about Jack having a daughter before. He couldn't help but notice the resemblance between father and daughter, and she hoped that they could find somewhere peaceful where they could talk.

"It's good to finally meet you, Alice," Ianto said, nodding in her direction. For Alice's part, she looked surprised and pleased, but at the same time as if she wanted to burst into all sorts of questions. Over the year Alice's opinions on certain matters had changed dramatically, although she did still carry some of the more deeply-ingrained beliefs that had been instilled by her mother.

"Let's get this inside," Rhiannon said. "I have coffee ready."

"Oh God," Martha moaned, "I haven't had a decent coffee in nearly a year."

"Rhiannon's coffee is good," Toshiko said, as a group they made their way across the gravel drive, "but wait until you've tried Ianto's."

She could feel the dragon huff playfully against her side. "I've just got back from walking the Earth and all you can think of is my coffee?"

"Sounds like she's got her priorities straight to me," Owen's voice floated in over their shoulders. "You know that's the only reason we keep you around, Dragon Boy."

Ianto snorted. "And the only reason we keep you around, Owen, is because we don't want to traumatize any poor souls who you might otherwise scar with what you consider your sense of humour."

Toshiko couldn't help but laugh. It was almost like things hadn't changed, that the world hadn't ended and that everything was fine.

She could only fool herself for a short while, though.

The front room of the inn was crowded with people, all wanting to hear about what was going on outside the valley. It wasn't pretty; Ianto and Martha hadn't taken any pleasure in telling them all of Saxon's rampages: of the destruction of Japan; the radiation-soaked Russian tundra where the worst weapons imaginable were being tested; the murder of the Pope and every known religious leader on Earth, their blood saturating the stone of St. Peter's Square; and the list went on and on, nothing seeming to be beyond the insane Time Lord in his continued conquest of the planet. Ianto's voice broke when he spoke of the rockets…millions of rockets, all aimed at the stars, and Toshiko took his hand in hers, trying to comfort him.

They knew about the rockets, and about the Master's plan to launch them and create what he called the new Time Lord Empire. He'd had the Earth practically raped for the materials he'd needed to build them, using what was left of humanity as his personal slave force. Toshiko knew for a fact that, early on, the Shadow Proclamation had put warning beacons in orbit, telling any and all races in the galaxy to stay away.

But, of course they wouldn't help. They weren't allowed to, by the very laws they'd sworn to uphold.

Eventually, conversation turned to the plan they had to get to Saxon. Toshiko once again felt misgivings about the Doctor, but she didn't dare say them in front of Martha; she knew that the woman had traveled with the Time Lord, and fully believed that the plan would work. She also wanted to get Ianto alone, just long enough to explain the back-up plan she and her fellow Dragon-Friends had come up with, but waited her chance.

"We have it on good authority that the Master does have Professor Docherty's son," Kathy was saying, bringing Toshiko back into the conversation. "Anything you say to her is extremely likely to get back to him."

Martha nodded. "I hate using her like this, but it's our only real chance to get aboard the _Valiant_ without the Master knowing we actually _want_ to be captured."

"Are there enough people who know the story and plan to make this really work?" Alice asked the one question Toshiko hadn't wanted to, and she found herself glad that she had. Trust Alice to be the one to be so blunt.

Martha nodded. "Once the Doctor is completely attuned to the Archangel Network, then we'll have the critical mass to beam back at him."

That was just it. Did they really have that so-called critical mass? How many people really took Martha's story to heart? And how many of them that had, were still alive?

Toshiko could feel eyes on her, and she turned to look directly into Ianto's. There was a question there, and she knew she'd be talking to him in privacy sooner than she'd thought. He must have picked up on her unease; but then, he knew her pretty well, and had to have noticed her uncertainty. He nodded slightly, just enough for her to see, and then rejoined the conversation.

"This needs to end soon," Estelle said, from her place in one of the lobby's comfortable chairs. She was stroking Moses softly, the cat's inscrutable eyes blinking as they regarded Martha and Ianto. She'd learned a lot about her own abilities in the year of their exile, and now was quite confident in her personal magic.

That had been hard for Toshiko to accept. Certainly, she believed in dragons and Dragon-Friends and the small powers they possessed, but there was something about the very notion of true magic in the world that had her flinching. But she'd seen her friend do things that should have been impossible, and she'd been instrumental in helping in the growth of their gardens under the sunless cloudy shield that hid Ddraig Llyn by providing rain and energy for their plants to grow.

"The Earth is groaning under the weight of the Master's destruction," Estelle went on, sounding very ominous. "It's in its final death knells, and if we don't do something everything will die."

"She's right," Toshiko found herself saying. "I can feel it through my connection with the Earth Dragon." It was as if the very pain of the planet was oozing from the ground under her feet, and she could feel it in her very bones.

"We all can," Rhiannon added. "Every element carries the agonies of the Earth to us."

"It won't be long now," Martha said with certainty. "The Doctor will defeat the Master."

Toshiko wished she could have that sort of faith. But she'd been a witness to Saxon's depravity in the transmissions he'd send from the _Valiant_; seen what the Time Lord was capable of. That sort of insanity was a force of nature on its own, and it would take another such force to stop it.

But then, she did remember the very few stories that Jack had told about his Doctor, about how he could stop an alien invasion with just a single word. He'd deposed Harriet Jones with just seven…and yet, if he hadn't done that the world wouldn't be dying around them. There wouldn't have needed to be a special election, and Saxon would not have been voted into office.

She wondered if the Doctor even considered that it was his actions that'd brought this about.

And this made her think about Jack. Toshiko wondered if Ianto knew just what his mate was going through up there, at the Master's hands. She shivered, and hoped he didn't.

But they had a plan, the Dragon-Friends. If the Doctor failed…

"We have a couple of days here," Ianto said. "I want to make certain everything is in place before Martha and I leave. And I want to talk to the Great Dragons."

Toshiko found herself nodding in time with the other Dragon-Friends. "They want to speak to you, too," Alice said. "I think they've been looking forward to it, actually."

Ianto favored her with a smile. "As have I. And, I'd also like to speak to my friends. It's been far too long, and while I'm in serious danger of sounding sappy, I've missed you all." He made sure to include Alice in his glance, and she nodded.

This would mean they would be able to explain what they had in place. Toshiko knew that Ianto would want to know that, before setting foot on the _Valiant_. Every contingency needed to be taken into consideration, and they couldn't simply rely on a Time Lord who'd been content to be a prisoner for the last year.

Because, if one thing Toshiko was certain of, was that the Doctor could have escaped whenever he wanted to. He was waiting, and she didn't know why.

She didn't know why he was letting the Earth die, when he could have done something about it before things had gotten so bad.


	12. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Three

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it. sorry.

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter! Thanks everyone, for the lovely comments, and for reading!

* * *

_**Three Hundred Fifty-Three Days into the Year of the Toclafane**_

For the first time since the world had gone to hell, Ianto felt he could relax for a short while.

He was surrounded by friends and family, safe within the hidden valley. He could feel the magic that kept Ddraig Llyn from Saxon's scanners, and it prickled against his skin almost pleasantly. It was a balm to his soul, and only two things would have made it perfect: Jack being there, and the Earth returned to its pre-paradox state.

It would be soon, he hoped.

He and Martha talked about what was going on outside the valley, and he could see how much it was affecting them all. Yes, Toshiko had eyes and ears on the outside world, but it wasn't quite the same as hearing someone speak of it, who had actually been there. It was disturbing, and Ianto hated that a single alien backed by the horrific Toclafane hadn't been stopped before all this happened.

The dragon looked at everyone gathered together to hear their story. He recognized nearly everyone: from the old-timers who were relying on others to translate things into Welsh for them; to the newcomers, who'd come in to the valley before everything had descended into the hell it had. John Ellis was there, the time-displaced Rift victim, looking as if he belonged among the locals. Estelle looked content, and comfortable with the power that she now held, her familiar in her lap. Owen, who was the only Torchwood survivor of the Rift storms that had destroyed Cardiff, looking tired and yet ready to do what was needed.

There were new arrivals as well, ones who had arrived at the village after the coming of the Toclafane. Tom Milligan was one of them, and Ianto hoped that he might get to know the young doctor better, if they all survived to see the Doctor's plan put into effect…and if they all remembered once things were put right. If they ever were.

And then there were the Dragon-Friends.

Ianto couldn't believe how good it was to see Toshiko and Kathy again. They were his truest friends, and if he was any judge he would have said that they'd gotten closer over the course of the last year. He hoped it was true. They were special to him, Toshiko more his sister than anything, and Kathy a trusted member of his extended family.

Rhiannon had been his friend for much longer, and she was the last descendent of the family who'd taken him in when his family had been murdered. She was a sister to him as well, and she'd been the perfect person to turn over the inn to when Ianto had left with Jack eight years ago. She was his anchor amid the eddies and shoals of Dragon-lore, and he relied on her to be the spokesperson of the valley.

And then there was Alice.

Ianto was going to have to have a talk with Jack about keeping his family secret.

The dragon had known about Alice and her son, Steven, although he hadn't for very long, else he would have Named them during the problems with the Fae. He'd found out by complete accident, while going through payroll records for an audit requested by the Crown during Jack's absence. Jack hadn't done as good a job as he must have thought in hiding them, and it hadn't taken much research to find out just where that particular portion of his mate's Torchwood pay had been going to every month. A little more digging had revealed just who Alice Carter was, and what had happened when her mother had left Torchwood, but absolute confirmation had come with the pictures Toshiko had found in Bilis Manger's office back in 1941, which he'd located in Jack's desk. It had saddened him, but he could understand why Jack hadn't talked about it if what he'd read was true.

But now, Alice was a Dragon-Friend, the Friend of Air. He wanted to speak to her, to find out exactly how that had come about, and to get to know her better. He hoped he would have time.

Eventually, Rhiannon shooed the villagers out, insisting that the gathering allow Ianto and Martha to get some rest. The dragon was grateful; he was tired, but at the same time he wanted some time alone with his family. On his way out, John Ellis patted his shoulder reassuringly, and Ianto nodded, grateful for his support. The man had come a long way from the depressed refugee who'd wanted to take his own life instead of making a new way in the world. Sending him and Alan here had been the best thing he could have done, even if John had only had a few scant months to spend with his son before his passing. But John looked – if not happy – then at least content.

Once Rhiannon had turfed everyone out, she returned to the now-smaller group. "Martha," she said, "I know you must be tired. Why don't I show you to a room?" She grinned. "Perhaps one with a shower?"

"You've said the magic word," Martha answered, returning the grin. "I would murder for a shower." She grabbed her pack from where she'd dropped it next to her chair.

"No need for that," Rhiannon laughed. "C'mon, let's go." She ushered Martha out, but not before casting a glance back toward what was left of the gathering.

Ianto knew exactly what she was doing.

He looked at those remaining. Toshiko sat next to him, her hand loosely clasped in his. Kathy perched on the arm of the sofa, one arm around Toshiko's shoulders. Estelle was still in her chair, but Moses had left, most likely going in search of something to eat. Alice sat cross-legged on the floor, her eyes on him expectantly. And Owen leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

His closest friends and family. Ianto's heart warmed in their presence. The only one missing was Jack…and he couldn't think of what his mate was going through, up on the _Valiant_, at the hands of the Master. Whatever else happened, the Time Lord would pay for injuring his mate.

"All right," he said, "as glad as I am to see you all, I get the distinct impression that you're all up to something."

From the reactions of the five around him, he'd hit the nail on the head.

"Estelle was right," Alice answered for them. "The Earth is dying. We can all feel it, and it gets worse every day. If what we think is true, then we barely have two months before everything ends."

Ianto shivered. He'd known things were bad, but this…"Are you certain?"

"As sure as we can be," Toshiko said.

"C'mon," Owen said. "You've been out there, Ianto. You've seen it. It's all gone to hell, because of that bastard on the _Valiant _and his floating torturers_._"

The dragon had to agree. Walking the world meant he'd seen a lot, and he'd witnessed much that had him agreeing with the assessment. Earth was dying, and they didn't have much time.

"Ianto," Toshiko went on, "we can't rely on the Doctor's plan succeeding. I can honestly say that none of us here completely believe in this so-called plan. I've seen the inside of the Archangel Network, and I really think the Doctor's bitten off more than he can deliver."

"We all agree," Kathy said. "If what Tosh's told us all about him is true, the Doctor is directly responsible for what's happening now."

Ianto also had to agree with that. He'd had time to think about things on their travels, and he'd heard Martha's stories about the Time Lord that jibed with what he'd already known from Jack, and he had come to the conclusion that the Doctor simply didn't take into consideration the consequences of his own actions. Certainly, he meant well, but that simply didn't translate into actually _doing_ the right thing.

Torchwood had had to clean up enough of his messes and, in fact, one of the reasons it had been created was to do just that. If the Doctor hadn't interfered…well, it had all turned out all right in the end, but maybe Queen Victoria had had the correct idea. Someone had to rein the Doctor in, and it looked as if Torchwood was it.

And now, the biggest mess ever had been dumped into their laps, and if this so-called plan didn't work, then the entire planet would suffer the consequences of what the Doctor had wrought.

"I'm assuming then that you have a back-up plan." He rolled his eyes at the looks of surprise he received. "Please, I know at least Tosh and Owen would want to have something in the works in case things go pear-shaped."

Toshiko chuckled. "Okay, you do know us that well. And you'd be right…we do have a plan, that's ready to go if the Doctor fails."

Ianto sat back, regarding his five friends closely. He turned as Rhiannon came back from showing Martha to her room, and took a seat in a chair opposite. "She's settled for the night," the innkeeper reported. "She won't overhear anything."

"Martha believes too heavily in the Doctor to even accept that he could fail," Ianto said. "I've seen her devotion first-hand, and while it's commendable, it's also a bit blind." As much as he loved her as a friend, the dragon knew he was on target with his observations. He didn't add that he knew Martha had an infatuation with the Time Lord.

"That's what we all thought, too," Kathy replied. "It's okay to believe in someone, but you have to take into consideration that they can screw up. And I think as far as everyone here is concerned, the Doctor screwed this up big-time."

"From what I've heard from Martha," the dragon said, "the Doctor actually had a chance to put a halt to this before it began, but felt he needed to save Saxon instead of stopping him…even though he had first-hand knowledge of just how ruthless and insane the Master could be." Ianto could understand about the Doctor being the last of his race, and needing to help the only other one there was left. But he'd learned his lesson with Lisa all too well, and there were times when that just wasn't possible.

"And does he still feel that way?" Alice asked.

Ianto shrugged. "I don't know, but I suspect that's the case."

"So basically you're saying," Owen bit out, "is that the Doctor is most likely to choose that bastard over the fate of the entire planet."

"The Doctor has done a lot of good for Earth," Toshiko said, although it sounded almost as if she was condemning the Time Lord instead of praising him.

"And the road to hell…" Owen didn't finish that sentence…but then, he didn't need to.

"All right," Ianto said, trying to bring them all back to the subject at hand. "You do have some sort of plan in place in case things fail?"

"We do," Toshiko answered. She looked at the others, and they each gave her a small nod of encouragement. She squeezed Ianto's hand, taking a deep breath. "The moment we hear that the Doctor has failed, then the four of us," she indicated her fellow Dragon-Friends, "will go up to the _Valiant _to hold the Master responsible for his crimes against Earth. The Great Dragons will go with us."

Ianto felt slightly ill. "That will leave the valley open to Saxon's scanners."

"We know," Toshiko answered, "but it won't matter anyway, since the world will end if the plan doesn't succeed. It'll be our only chance, if the Master is distracted by the Doctor…"

"And what about the paradox machine?" Ianto asked. "That will need to be destroyed."

"That would be my goal," Estelle answered, smiling. "I may be an old woman, but I do have hidden talents." She raised her hand, and silver lightning flickered around her fingertips.

Ianto looked at them all, feeling intensely proud and yet at the same time so very afraid for all of them. If the plan did fail, then chances were both he and Martha would be killed. The Master didn't know that the man that the Resistance had code-named Dragon was, indeed, a true dragon, and if he found that out…well, maybe death would be a better fate than what might actually befall him.

Once again, his mind turned to Jack on board the _Valiant,_ knowing that he had to be going through torture and worse. While he didn't actually know what was going on up there, he could make guesses, especially since Martha had confirmed that the Master had known about Jack's immortality.

"If it comes to this," he said slowly, "then you know Martha and I…" he faded out, not needing to really say much more.

Toshiko squeezed his hand again, and the others looked grave. Ianto cleared his throat. "Saxon doesn't know that I'm a real dragon," he went on. "If the plan fails, then I'll reveal myself and do the best I can to take Saxon down. We cannot allow this to continue. With any luck, since he doesn't know about my true identity he won't be prepared for me, and I'll have the chance to strike a real blow. I'm going to trust you all to do what needs to be done, and not worry about me."

Owen was shaking his head. "If you think we're just gonna stand around while the Master kills you – "

"You might not have a choice," Ianto said. "No one life is more important than the fate of this world. You'll need to be my back-up, in case it all goes to hell." He swallowed. "If anything happens to me, tell Jack – "

"Oh, quit trying out for the part of martyr in this show," Owen snarked. "Nothing's gonna happen to you, Dragon Boy. So stop being a bigger drama queen than Harkness."

Ianto couldn't help but laugh. "Fine, I'll try to stay away from the histrionics, if just to save your delicate sensibilities."

'Thank god for that!"

"Ianto," Toshiko said, "why don't you get some rest? I'm sure you're dying to change into dragon-form after so long. We can get caught up more tomorrow."

He had to admit, that was a very good idea. Ianto had only been able to change his shape at irregular intervals, and it didn't matter how much he slept as a human it still bothered him. He was literally aching to take to the skies again, to feel the wind against his wings…

"I think I'll do that," he said, standing and grinning widely. He pulled Toshiko to her feet, hugging her tightly. "It's so very good to see you again," he whispered into her hair.

"Oi, Jones," Kathy exclaimed playfully, "keep your hands off my girlfriend, if you don't mind."

Ianto responded by grabbing her hand and pulling her into the hug. "I'm very happy for you both," he said quietly. He only hoped they remembered this when whatever happened was over.

He released them, then proceeded to embrace Rhiannon and Estelle, and finally Alice. "I'm very glad to finally meet you," he said, holding her out at arms' length. "We should talk, you and I. I really want to get to know you and Steven both. Welcome to my family, Alice, and I Name you Dragon-Friend."

He could feel the power of it, at his proclamation. The Naming bound Alice to him, and he vowed to keep her safe, as he had vowed of all his family. She looked a little surprised, but pleased, and Ianto knew, no matter the differences she may have had with her father – and there had to be some, if what he'd read about her mother had been correct – that she would always be a part of him until she passed from the realm of the living, as were everyone in that room.

"You're not gonna hug me, are you?" Owen said, holding his hands up as if to keep Ianto away.

"No, I don't want to ruin your manly-man reputation," Ianto joked, letting go of Alice. "I'm going to sleep in my old cave. If you need me, Rhiannon knows where it is."

"I took the liberty of setting things up for you," Rhiannon said. "It's not much, just a few pillows and quilts, and I had firewood hauled up to stock the fire pit…"

"It will be fine," he assured her. "Anything's better than cold ground."

They accompanied him outside, and Ianto triggered the transformation. He roared his joy to the cloud-ridden sky, and even before his wings were fully formed he was launching himself into the air, feeling the wind bite into the leathery membrane and helping him thrust upward, leaving the ground behind for the sheer exhilaration of flight.

Tomorrow would be another day, but for now the dragon was free.

And soon, so would be his mate. That was a vow he fully meant to keep.


	13. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Four

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter Four

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, I would have treated 'em better

Author's note: New chapter! Hurray! Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

_**Three Hundred and Fifty-Three Days into the Year of the Toclafane**_

Alice Carter had had a lot of her preconceived notions overturned during the past year, all of them having to do with her father.

Her mother had been very adamant about what she considered Jack Harkness to be, and she'd passed every one of those ideas onto her daughter, who'd taken them to heart as only a child could. That her father was selfish, and a slut, and narcissistic, and untrustworthy, and only cared for what was important to him…but it was her firm lessons in just how dangerous a man Jack was that really hit the hardest. What made the situation worse was that he seemed to be just what her mother had claimed: he'd miss important things in her life, using the excuse of 'work' for every time he'd broken a promise. Jack Harkness was unreliable, and her mother made certain that Alice had understood that.

By the time Alice had turned ten, she and her mother had moved and had changed their names, all in order to escape her father's 'business'. Of course, Alice hadn't known that her very own mother had been a part of her father's world; that had come later, when Lucia had talked about Torchwood and how Alice had to avoid it at all costs. Jack had begun to stay away at that point, and Alice hadn't learned until later that it hadn't been his decision, that her mother had ordered him to leave them alone, and Jack had done it.

Alice wished that he hadn't, but she could understand now why he had.

But there'd been no explaining that to the bitter young girl who felt as if her own father had abandoned her. She began to feel as if there was something wrong with _her_ that kept Jack away, even though her mother assured her that it was just his way, and not to take it seriously. But Alice hadn't believed her, and her own self-esteem had taken a hit over what she considered his disregard of her.

Then, when she was fifteen, she met the Air Dragon.

The Dragon had come during a bad time in Alice's life, when she was at her lowest. She could still remember that day so well: she'd been in her back garden, alone at home while her mother had been off to work. That was usually the way of it, when Alice had become old enough to look after herself, and while she knew her mother felt the need to work – although, after her mother's death she'd discovered the account her father had set up for them to live on, and it had been untouched – it was lonely for her. Alice didn't make friends easily, and the empty house was something she dreaded to come home to after school.

The Air Dragon changed all that.

Alice had been charmed by the dancing blue dragon that had appeared that day as she'd sat on a chair in her garden. Every day after school the Dragon would appear, and tell her stories that fascinated her. Her mother never saw her, and that suited Alice just fine. In fact, she'd been afraid that Lucia would find out, and do something to chase the Dragon away.

The lonely girl didn't want to lose her friend.

Of course, as she got older the Dragon appeared less and less, until the day Alice finally moved away to go to University. The day before she left had been the last time she'd seen her friend, and Alice had wept as the Dragon had hugged her in a warm twist of air. But she'd promised she'd see Alice once more, and a part of her hadn't believed it. After all, she'd been left by her own father; why would the Dragon come back?

But she had, the night Joe had left.

It wasn't much longer after that that her father came back into her life. Alice had had so many years of anger toward him, and at first she'd rebuffed his efforts, not wanting to confuse Steven with having a grandfather who looked so young. Eventually though she'd let him back in a little, demanding that he be her son's 'uncle' instead of grandfather, and Jack had agreed.

The Air Dragon had tried to get her talk to her father, and really that was the only reason Alice had agreed to let Jack visit. She still harbored the feelings of abandonment, and never gave him an easy time of it when he did come by. As far as she was concerned everything her mother had claimed about him was true.

Looking back on it, Alice could see that Jack had done everything that Alice had asked, without complaint. It should have told her something, but it hadn't. But then, she'd been so blind…from her mother's rhetoric and from her own prejudices.

It had taken the world ending to open her eyes.

Estelle Cole had had ample reason to hate Jack, and yet she didn't. Alice hadn't understood until Estelle had really explained it to her, and even then it had taken a lot of thinking on Alice's part to truly accept what the older woman was telling her: that her father's immortality was more curse than blessing, that he would always be leaving those he loved because he didn't change, didn't grow any older. Staying would bring attention to it, and Estelle had pointed out to her that Jack would still be around when everyone in Ddraig Llyn was dead and dust, and that he would have to exist with knowing everyone he'd ever loved would either leave him in death…or like Alice's mother had, in fear. The thing was, it didn't keep him from loving, and when he did love it was fully and with his whole heart, although he'd always tried to stay aloof and not get involved. It was just against Jack's nature to stay out of the way of emotional entanglements, even though he knew in the end that it would only cause him more pain.

Toshiko and Owen worked for Torchwood, the bogeyman of her mother's existence, and yet it wasn't the house of horrors she'd been told about. Yes, there were times when they did terrible things but it was in the name of saving innocents rather than because they just _could_. Toshiko had hastened to say that Torchwood hadn't always been that way, that not too long ago it had been as bad as her mother had claimed, but that because of Jack's influence it had become a better place, one more likely to try to understand instead of kill out of hand.

Kathy had confirmed that, even though Alice knew she wasn't as big a fan of her father as the others were. There was still a healthy dose of respect for what Jack had accomplished even if the former detective inspector didn't like him all that much. She was quite honest in her opinion of Jack's treatment of the local constabulary – there was a reason she called Jack 'Himself' – but she also said she could understand it, having seen what Torchwood had to deal with. Better a rude bastard than a dead copper, had been her opinion, and Alice had come away from the conversation wondering just how much of her father's bad behavior had been an act all along. And if it was just a way to protect others…and himself.

Rhiannon was the one who explained Jack's connection to Ianto Jones, the Last Dragon. It was the most difficult to take in; a tale of prophecy and destiny and how, one day, they would have a true Mating that would, ages from now, bring back the dragons to the universe. Rhiannon told her that she hadn't even shared that last bit with either man yet, because it would be too hard for them to believe…not that Alice herself believed it, either. It was too wild, too improbable, and that was even before she considered that they were both men. She wanted to believe in happy endings, but it was just far too difficult.

There was really only one more person she really needed to speak to, and that person had been gone the entire year.

Which was why Alice found herself at the lake shore, watching as a magnificent green dragon flew overhead.

It was day, which in Ddraig Llyn meant that the clouds overhead had gotten lighter. She knew, once she left the valley, that she'd look like she'd been living in a cellar for the past year, due to the lack of true sunlight. Most of the villagers were up and moving, and Alice knew the eyes of several were on her, but she didn't care. Her attention was on the dragon above her. When she'd realized that her father was bound to the dragon, at first she'd wanted to warn him, that her father was unreliable and untrustworthy and not worth the effort. But, once again, it had been Estelle to point out to her that both _needed_ each other, that to be immortal was to be lonely, and these two were unique in the universe. Only they would know what it was like to live forever. Together, they would never be alone again.

Alice decided that her father did, indeed, deserve happiness…especially after seeing what was being done to him onboard the _Valiant_, in those few broadcasts the Master made to lord it over his 'subjects'. That, more than any words Estelle and the others had said, had convinced her that her father suffered under a curse of the worst possible kind.

Her mother had been wrong in that.

It was just one thing in a long line of wrong.

The dragon must have caught sight of her; he began circling lower, closer to her and the bank. With a rush of wind he settled onto the ground, his enormous head swiveling to regard her. "Good morning, Alice," he greeted her cheerfully, his blue cat-like eyes glowing.

"Good morning," she returned, walking closer. She raised her hand, in order to touch the emerald scales, but changed her mind before she could, not wanting to assume.

The dragon huffed a laugh. "Please, don't hold back. You'll find I'm a very tactile sort of dragon."

She laughed with him, resting her hand on his warm shoulder. The scales were smooth as silk, yet felt as hard as steel. Alice wondered what those glittering scales would look like under proper sunlight. There were so many things she wanted to ask, but she didn't know where to start.

He took it out of her hands; curling up on the cool bank, the dragon looked at her closely. "You do have the look of your father about you."

For some reason Alice found herself blushing slightly. "Did Dad tell you about me?"

Those large eyes rolled. "No, he didn't, and I'm going to have words about it when I see him again." The tone was somewhat joking, but there was a sadness in his gaze, and Alice knew he was thinking about Jack being a prisoner. "Although I can certainly understand why he didn't. Jack has so few things in his life that are _his_, and I believe he was being selfish of you and Steven. I do know he would have told me if given the chance."

Alice didn't say anything. The dragon's calm confidence in her father was, once again, different from anything she'd gotten from the others. He was so certain that Jack would have spoken up about her and Steven…"It's bad, you know," she said. "What Dad's going through."

"I know, although I don't have first-hand knowledge. Martha told me that the Master knew Jack couldn't die." He sighed. "I would have gone to save him if I could, and it hurts me to know he's being…used, as he is."

He rested his head on his front claws. "Just before he left with the Doctor, I'd sung the Song of Commitment for him. That song holds much power, and is a vow between those intending to mate. That implicit vow is to protect your loved one, and to avenge them if they are injured or killed. I will do that, Alice. You have my word. The Master will pay for Jack's suffering."

Alice shivered at his matter-of-fact tone, and yet at the same time she felt a sharp fierceness within her at the dragon's promise. Her father didn't deserve what was happening to him, and she only wished she could be there when the dragon laid hands on the Master.

Somehow, she didn't think their back-up plan would be needed. Alice doubted the Master would survive the dragon's wrath.

"Rhiannon was telling me that you and my Dad are destined to be together," she commented, taking a seat on the grass and leaning against the dragon's warm side.

"It would appear so," he answered, his voice a deep rumble against her back. "When I was just turned four hundred, I had a vision of my future mate. Although, I do admit I didn't realize that the dragon I was seeing was some sort of allegory for a human I'd meet over 1,500 years later. Of course, if I'd seen Jack in that vision I doubt I would have been quite so sanguine about it."

Alice laughed. "I can imagine!" She sobered. "What finally happened to the other dragons?" she asked.

"I'm surprised Rhiannon hasn't said anything."

"She has; I just wanted to hear it from the one person who was there at the time."

"Ah." The dragon was silent for a few moments, then began to speak quietly. "I would say that things began to turn against dragon-kind when Uther Pendragon banned magic from Camelot – "

"Wait," Alice exclaimed. "Are you saying King Arthur and all that was _real_?"

"Indeed. The legends have been tainted throughout the millennia, but yes…Camelot was real. I even went there once, with my father. One of our kind was being held prisoner, and my father thought to release him…but in the end, we didn't."

"Why not?"

"Because he had Uther convinced that he was the last, and while Uther believed that the rest of us were safe. Merlin did eventually release him from his captivity – "

"Merlin was real too?" Alice was surprised that so many of the tales she'd read as a child were turning out to be true…or at least, had a grain of truth about them.

The dragon chuckled. "Oh yes. I quite liked him. He was so different from how all the old stories picture him. Oh, he was very powerful...but he was quite one of the biggest klutzes I have ever met. He and Arthur made quite a lovely couple – "

"Now just a second!" Alice laughed. "I think you're making some of this up!"

"I am not!" The dragon sounded completely innocent. "Things were a lot more accepting back then! Now, are you going to let me continue, or will you keep interrupting?"

Alice stifled her chuckles. "Please, go ahead."

The dragon did. "Things were better for a while after Arthur repealed the ban on magic, but after he'd died Albion descended into chaos. And the coming of Christianity didn't help matters. It became a coming-of-age ritual for a young man to go out and slay a dragon, and once it was discovered how to kill one of us, word spread quickly. We were seen as creatures of evil, simply because we were magical. Druids and magic-users of all types were condemned. It only took another 250 years before the dragons were all but extinct."

The dragon's voice took on a deep, horrible sadness, and Alice couldn't help but cry for all the dragons who'd been killed just because they weren't understood as being a part of the natural world. It brought to mind Rhiannon's prophecy that the dragon and her Dad would, far in the future, become the parents of a new race of dragons. A part of her wanted to give her new friend that peace, but she stopped herself. It still seemed improbable, but she hoped that it would come true.

"Why my dad?" she blurted.

The dragon chuckled lightly. "I've asked myself that question! There's just something about Jack that calls to me…perhaps it's the knowledge that he's like me, alone in the world. There are none like either of us, and that will not change. Or maybe it's his humanity…although he would say he'd lost that somewhere along the way; that's a lie, though. Jack's one of the most human people I know. He's also very dragon-like in ways that I cannot explain. He _knows_, Alice. He knows what it's like to be the only one of his kind."

"But he isn't," she replied. "He has me and Steven."

"He does, but it's not the same. You won't continue to live after everyone you love has passed. You won't see the rise and fall of cities, countries, even worlds. He will. He is unique among all other creatures. Even I'm not exactly like him, because there are still ways to kill me, and I would not be able to come back like he does."

Alice's heart ached at the pain in the dragon's voice. "He never really explained to me how he became immortal."

"That was why he left with the Doctor…to find out how it happened. You see, your father traveled with the Doctor for a while, and somewhere along the line he was made immortal. The problem was, the Doctor left him to fend for himself…although Jack thinks the Time Lord didn't know that he was even alive, or that he'd been changed."

Alice felt angry on Jack's behalf. To have been left, when he hadn't known what had caused him to be immortal…how much of a shock had it been, when her father had realized he couldn't die? "I really do hope it was a mistake, leaving Dad behind," she growled.

"As do I, Alice. I cannot bear to think that Jack had been abandoned on purpose."

In those words, things suddenly hit home for her. She finally figured it out, what her father must go through, starting from that very first abandonment. His entire life must have been chock full of people leaving him, whether from death or fear or envy over his immortality. And yet, Estelle had said that Jack couldn't help but become involved with people, although he knew what he was letting himself in for.

No one would ever truly understand Jack Harkness…except for this wonderful creature sitting on the shore of a hidden lake.

Alice knew she'd have disagreements with her Dad. It was inevitable; they were both too stubborn for their own good, and they'd keep butting heads on even the smallest things.

But, sitting there, leaning against a creature out of legend, she finally could see Jack for what he was, and how much she and her father had in common.

A sudden, fierce protectiveness rose up within her. "I get dibs on the Doctor if I find out he really left Dad alone on purpose."

The dragon laughed. "You can certainly have him, daughter. I wouldn't dream of standing in your way."

_Daughter._ Yes, Alice liked being called that very much indeed.


	14. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Five

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, sorry.

Author's note! Sorry about the delay in this! I thought I'd posted this already, but it turned out I hadn't. Thanks for being patient! Hope you enjoy this.

* * *

_**Three Hundred Fifty-Nine Days into the Year of the Toclafane**_

In the first month Jack was a prisoner on board the _Valiant_, he tried to escape five times.

The first, second, and fifth times, he didn't get very far, being grabbed by guards as he left the tiny cell the Master had thrown him into at first. The third time, he actually made it to one of the upper levels before being killed in a literal hail of bullets, and the fourth he managed to get to the engine room and do some minor damage to the airship's buoyancy controls, making it impossible for the _Valiant_ to change altitude until they were fixed.

Needless to say, the Master wasn't at all happy with that, and showed Jack exactly what he thought about the situation.

It was in the second month that Jack came to the conclusion that the Doctor didn't seem to be working on any sort of plan to put things back to normal. That notion didn't hurt as much as it would have just a short time ago, since he now had it on fairly good authority that the Doctor wouldn't give a fig about Jack's personal well-being. He'd made that pretty clear trillions of years in the future, after volunteering him – while he was actually dead – to do into a room full of radiation. Of course, Jack knew himself well enough to admit he'd have gone if he'd been _asked_; it was the idea that he _hadn't_ been that made him so angry. And then that was when his supposed 'friend' had confided that Jack's very presence made him ill…well, the Doctor always did have lousy timing. He could have come out with that before pretty much trapping him with the stet radiation.

It didn't help that Jack was pretty much convinced that, in a choice between the Earth and the Master, that the Doctor would choose his fellow Time Lord. Just from certain comments he'd made before they'd been captured Jack was quite certain the Doctor wasn't necessarily out to stop the Master from whatever plan the bastard was hatching, although the world he'd supposedly adopted as his own was in danger of being destroyed.

And so, Jack thought if the Doctor wasn't going to do anything to save them, then he'd just have to do it himself.

On his second escape attempt in that second month, he made it within thirty feet of the TARDIS before the Toclafane stopped him…rather fatally.

The Master was more than happy to show Jack just how he felt about _that_.

It was also in the second month that Jack finally found out what had happened to Cardiff.

It was by accident; something Clive Jones said, when he'd come in to clean up the blood and bodily fluids from Jack's latest death, an off-hand comment about the 'bastard not being in a good mood anymore, like he was after Cardiff'. Jack had asked him what that meant, and Clive told him.

Jack had howled out his grief until one of the guards came in to shoot him, to shut him up.

After that, the escape attempts stopped.

Jack withdrew into his thoughts, remembering his team…and his mate. The Rift storm that the paradox had created would have killed them, and he doubted even a dragon would have survived. In the very last message he'd had from Ianto, he said he would be initiating a lockdown in the Hub, and Jack's imagination threw up images of them all being trapped in the Hub as the Rift storm blew through, tearing them all to pieces, unable to escape. The Hub would have been at the epicentre of the storm, and they wouldn't have stood a chance.

He'd lost his mate. Jack mourned that loss as if his very soul had been torn out…and perhaps it had been. He didn't even have his ring anymore, the one Ianto had given him, to give him some sort of comfort; the Master had confiscated it early on, and Jack had never seen it again.

He also wondered about Alice and Steven. Had they escaped the Rift storm? Or had they also been killed, along with his team? What about Estelle? Had Jack lost everyone he loved?

It seemed so.

The Master grew bored with Jack's lack of response to his 'attentions', and left him alone, hanging by chains in a remote area of the _Valiant's_ superstructure.

It was in the third month that Jack began to realize the Master wasn't killing him anymore. He noticed Tish Jones' face when she'd come in to feed him, and the bruise that blossomed across her cheek and swelled her eye shut; it seemed the Master was taking his ire out on others, now that Jack wasn't cooperating. Jack felt guilty about that, as well as leaving his team, and while he couldn't save the people he considered family the least he could do was go back to being the Master's personal punching bag.

His next escape attempt got him as far as the top deck. Jack actually tasted fresh air before being caught.

And was killed by being thrown over the side of the airship, although he was actually dead before he hit the ground. Coming back from that death though had taken days.

The Master thoroughly enjoyed Jack's agonies from that resurrection.

Jack waited until the fourth month to try to escape again, and then he found himself on the control deck, and in front of the Doctor, the aged Time Lord unresponsive in his wheelchair.

Jack cursed him as they dragged him away.

The Master chortled at that, and Jack heard him taunting the Doctor as the four guards practically carried him away.

There was no death after that attempt. Jack figured the Master was too happy with the result of it.

He tried two other times in that month, not getting far at all. The guards were onto him, and it really was a practice in futility to try, but it gave Jack something to do, and it gave the guards a work-out.

In the fifth month, Jack received the first ray of hope he'd had since that terrible day when the Doctor's so-called plan had gone wrong and the world had ended.

It came from Tish, who'd brought him his daily bowl of cold mashed swede – he was going to have nightmares about eating that stuff – who told Jack that Martha was still alive.

And that she was traveling in the company of a man only known as Dragon.

To Jack, that meant one thing…Ianto was still alive.

It was the only option he was willing to accept.

And, if Ianto was still alive, what about the rest of his team?

After that, the Joneses brought him every scrap of information they could about Martha and Ianto. When Francine mentioned a Resistance leader calling themselves Cherry Blossom, Jack immediately decided that it had to be Toshiko. He wondered where she was, and how she escaped from Cardiff. Maybe the Earth Dragon had saved her? It made sense.

He wondered if Kathy had survived as well, since she was also a Dragon-Friend. He hoped so.

His faith and hope were restored every time one of the Jones family would tell him another story. When Japan was destroyed, it was Clive who said that Martha – whom the Resistance was calling Nightingale – and her escort had escaped. When the Master had sent the Toclafane on a purge of North America, it was Francine who reported the Time Lord's anger that he'd missed Martha and Dragon by mere days.

Jack had learned first-hand how furious the Master was over that, as well. Not that he cared; he taunted the Master even as he was being killed in one of the most gruesome ways imaginable.

It was in the sixth month that Jack finally discovered that the Doctor, indeed, had some sort of plan, although he didn't believe for a second that he would actually have sent Martha around the world for some sort of gun in five parts, that could somehow kill Time Lords. Jack wondered just what the trip was for, and why the Doctor was waiting. All sorts of scenarios ran though Jack's head, but if Ianto was helping…then maybe it would work out in the end.

But being the personal torture toy for an insane Time Lord was starting to take its toll.

The seventh month was when Jack noticed it was taking longer and longer for him to come back from his various deaths. He hadn't even considered anything like that happening, but then dying over and over again was something Jack had never really done before. Yes, Emily Holroyd and Alice Guppy had enjoyed themselves at his expense, but even they hadn't killed him repeatedly. He'd been too useful to them, and they hadn't wanted to risk him being incapacitated.

But this…this was getting bad.

The degradation continued into the eighth month, becoming obvious enough that even the Master eventually began to notice. It came to a head after one fairly routine death, when Jack should have been back in minutes…and it took nearly an hour. The look he got from the Master had been accusing, as if Jack were doing it on purpose.

Like he had any control over his immortality. Yeah, right.

The Master left him alone after that, despite Jack's attempts to regain his attention. The Time Lord was getting more and more frustrated in trying to capture Martha and Ianto – although he had no idea that Dragon was former Torchwood operative Ianto Jones, and a real dragon to boot let alone Jack's mate – and he was more likely to take that out on others. Jack certainly didn't like to die, but it was preferable than seeing anyone else hurt. He tried to escalate his escape attempts, but nothing seemed to get the Master focused back on him, although the guards appeared to appreciate the challenge.

By the ninth month, things were coming to a head. The Master was becoming more and more unbalanced, and it was apparent in his behavior toward the slaves he had on board, the Joneses in particular. Jack did his best to help by acting as distraction, and it seemed to work for a while, but it was as if the Master had lost complete interest in him by that point. When a girl accidentally dumped a bucket of soapy water over the Master's shoes, he had her summarily disemboweled on the control deck, in front of everyone. Even Jack had been 'invited' to the 'party', and it was all he could do not to throw up at the scene.

The Doctor sat, unmoved.

Jack really hated him for that.

It seemed that the Master got bored taking his bad mood out on the help as the tenth month since he'd taken over rolled around, because he was back to killing Jack fairly frequently. It seemed the period away from dying helped his recovery time, because Jack was almost at his old resurrection rate when the Master's boredom brought him back to the bowels of the ship.

The problem was, his imagination had grown far more depraved, and Jack suffered for it.

It was only the thought of his dragon, his mate, out there and alive that kept Jack from the total darkness of despair that threatened to overcome him.

Things slowly went back into what construed as 'normal' on the _Valiant_, once the Master got things out of his system by taking them out on Jack. The closer it got to the launching of the missiles that were being built, the more the Time Lord got more and more excited. While Jack didn't know much was going on out in the world – the Joneses being his only source of information – he did know what those missiles were for. The Master had boasted about the 'new Time Lord Empire' enough during their sessions.

He couldn't succeed.

And so, the latest escape attempt.

This time though, it was being instigated by the Joneses, although Tish swore the Doctor was involved.

Like Jack trusted anything the Doctor did anymore. Still, he would go along with it, for the Joneses' sake.

It, of course, didn't get very far.

But this time Jack didn't suffer the consequences.


	15. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Six

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter! I hope you enjoy...

* * *

_**Three Hundred and Fifty-Nine Days into the Year of the Toclafane**_

The last several days had been the most peaceful Toshiko had felt in that whole damned year. Not even being with Kathy had been able to match it, and that was saying something.

It was as if everything was finally _right_, having Ianto there in the valley with them. She, Owen, and their dragon teammate were able to connect in a way that they'd never had, before there was blood and fire and the world ending all around them. The same could have been said for the four Dragon-Friends and Ianto; they were like sisters to his much-older big brother…well, accept for Alice, whom he'd taken to calling 'daughter'. Alice didn't mind, and the day she slipped up and called him 'Dad' the silence had been deafening, until the dragon had gathered her close with one of his wings and had practically cradled her between his front paws, his eyes shining with joy.

Steven had taken to calling him 'Granddad' after that, which Toshiko thought was just the cutest thing she'd ever heard. It was all she could do not to 'aw…' over it.

And yet, despite the peace over the valley, there was the certain knowledge that the world around them was dying. Toshiko could feel it every time her bare feet touched the ground, emanating up through her very bones and into her heart. She knew the rest of the Dragon-Friends felt the same way, with their own small abilities. Estelle could as well, with her connection to the magic of the planet, and although they knew the end was close none of them chose to speak about it.

There was nothing they could truly say.

All too soon, the time came when Ianto and Martha Jones had to leave. That morning dawned much as every morning did in Ddraig Llyn…with a simple lightening of the clouds overhead. The only difference was the presence of a fog over Pedair Dreigiau, roiling like storm clouds readying to form a cyclone.

Toshiko wasn't surprised that the Great Dragons were coming to see the pair off.

Before she could summon anyone, the other three Dragon-Friends had joined her outside, each staring up at the restless mountain. Ianto followed, as did Estelle and Martha. "What's going on?" the Doctor's Companion asked.

"The Great Dragons are coming," Ianto answered, awe in his voice.

As if called by his voice, the four Dragons appeared in a swirl of color, their insubstantial bodies floating above the gravel car park in front of the inn. They didn't have the strength to form corporeally; they were mere shadows of themselves, their power diminished from their protection of the valley and its inhabitants.

"_Greetings, our only son,"_ the voice of the Earth Dragon echoed around them. His body was all darkness and light, twisting and fluttering on a breeze that did not exist. _"And greetings to you, Martha Jones. Welcome to our valley."_

"Hello," Martha answered, sounding just a bit shy.

"_It is near the end," _the Earth Dragon went on. _"In six days' time, the world will either be saved…or will set on the path to ultimate destruction."_

"_We cannot see what is to happen," _the Air Dragon said. _"The future is muddied beyond reading. Before this year began, we were certain of what would happen. But the paradox the Evil One has set into place has made future-time confusing."_

"_We have come to give you our blessing," _the Earth Dragon continued. _"Our future rests with you."_

"It'll turn out all right," Martha said. "The Doctor's plan will succeed."

"_Your confidence in the Time Lord is admirable," _the Fire Dragon said, _"but be aware of this, Martha Jones…those here do not share that confidence. If the Doctor's plan were destined to succeed, then we would be able to see past the disruption of time."_

Toshiko glanced at Martha; she looked bothered by what the Dragon had said, but she wasn't speaking up about it. She didn't know if Martha herself was seeing the flaws in the Doctor's plan, or if she just knew when to be quiet about it. Either way, Toshiko was impressed by her silence.

"_We do not owe loyalty to the Time Lord," _the Water Dragon replied. _"The people here are loyal to us…and to our only living son, and his mate. They follow you because it is the only way at the moment, but if the Doctor does not fix things we will take measures to make certain the Master cannot murder our world."_

"That's more than fair," Martha answered. "I understand. But the Doctor's plan _will_ work."

"_You have our blessing in this endeavor," _the Earth Dragon reiterated. _"However, remember there is confidence…and there is blind faith. Choose which one you serve with care."_

And together, the four Dragons began to sing.

Toshiko could feel the power in the song; feel it wash over her, as the ancient language of dragons and magic descended over them all like the softest of caresses. She closed her eyes and reveled in it, not unaware of how much her outlook toward magic had changed in just the time since she'd become a Dragon-Friend. It was amazing, for someone who'd had her own absolute and blind faith in technology to have been so caught up in the mysticism surrounding her now.

The song crescendo'd over the valley, and the Great Dragons slowly faded away, leaving them alone. Toshiko felt bereft of the Earth Dragon's presence, but there was still a very tenuous connection between herself and the Dragon who had selected her. That would stay with her, even if the world did die.

The silence following the song was disturbed by a strident beeping from within the inn. Toshiko recognized it as a warning from her computer set-up, signaling an incoming transmission. She frowned, heading back inside, knowing the others followed her.

She slid into her seat at her desk, the trio of monitors flashing awake at her command. The two side screens were still running the programs she'd set for them when she'd awakened this morning; mostly weather reports and Toclafane sightings, the better to help Ianto and Martha on their journey.

But the middle screen had gone full static, and Toshiko practically growled at the notification she was receiving. "The Master is broadcasting." It had been a couple of months since he'd last sent anything out, and that one had been after some sort of escape attempt. She still had nightmares about what Jack had been put through…

The static seemed to fade, revealing a grainy image of the Master, grinning gleefully into whatever recording device he was using. Then he tried to look magnanimous, but failed horribly. _"My people,"_ he began, sounding for all the world like an excited schoolboy, _"greetings to you all, as we get ready for our glorious war against the Universe." _ His face went serious. _"I know there are all sorts of whispers down there. Stories of a child and her protector, walking the Earth…giving you all hope."_ He stepped back from the camera, and it panned backward, revealing the figure of an ancient-looking man who appeared barely able to stand.

It was the Doctor.

Toshiko had seen him many times over the last year, usually in the background as the Master expounded on some plan or celebrated another act of devastation against an already devastated Earth. He seemed completely helpless, which was yet another one of the reasons she doubted his plan would work, although she'd learned a long time ago never to judge by appearances. From what she'd witnessed he didn't seem to be doing much of anything.

There was a gasp behind her, and Toshiko knew it was Martha. She'd have seen the Doctor so aged before her own escape from the _Valiant_ so his appearance couldn't be all that bothering to her. Still, it must have been difficult seeing him like that, and she felt a bit of sympathy for the young woman.

The Master went to stand beside the Doctor. _"But I ask you…how much hope has this man got? Say hello, Gandalf." _ The Doctor didn't say anything, and the Master didn't seem fazed by the lack of response. _"Except,"_ he said, as if sharing a great secret, _"he's not really that old. He's an alien with a much longer lifespan than you stunted, little apes. But what if it showed?"_ He danced around the Doctor, coming up to his opposite side. _"What if I suspended your ability to regenerate?" _ That last bit was practically whispered in the Doctor's ear. _"All 900 years of your life…what if they could see them? Where would their hope be then?"_

The Master stepped away, and then aimed his laser device at the Doctor…who didn't even flinch away from it. As if he was perfectly willing to accept whatever the Master did to him.

Toshiko didn't know whether to be impressed, or sickened.

The device began to hum…and the Doctor began to writhe in agony, his movements looking sped up on the transmission. _"Older and older and older…"_ the Master cackled as the Doctor fell to the floor, still shaking and jerking under the assault. _"Down you go, Doctor! Down…down…down you go!"_

The Doctor's body began to shrink, his clothes swallowing up his diminishing form. The Master continued to taunt him as the Doctor became weaker and weaker, until nothing was left but a pile of filthy and stained clothing.

The Master leaned over, his mouth right next to the neck opening of what had been the Doctor's suit. _"Doctor," _he called, sounding as if he were summoning a favorite pet.

The clothes moved.

A misshapen head poked out from the pile on the floor, and a wizened body tried to fight its way from the enveloping folds. Sad dark eyes looked up at the camera.

The Doctor had been reduced to nothing but a gnomish caricature of his former self.

The Master looked right into the lens, his own eyes snapping with hellish delight. _"Received and understood, Ms Jones?"_ he said, practically purring.

The monitor faded back into static.

The silence was palpable.

It was broken by Owen cursing. "That's bloody torn it," he snapped. "There's no way his plan's gonna succeed now."

"He's still alive," Martha answered.

"You call that living?" the medic demanded. "It was bad enough when he'd been aged, but this…"

"Enough," Ianto got in between them. "The plan goes ahead, Owen."

"Are you sure about that?" Alice asked, taking Ianto's arm.

"I need to go to the _Valiant_," the dragon answered, resting his hand over hers. "I have to get to Jack."

She nodded, satisfied with that answer.

"The plan will still work," Martha said. "The Doctor might be hurt physically, but his mind is just fine."

"Can you be certain of that?" Owen asked.

"The Master was right about one thing," the young woman said, "the Doctor is a 900 year-old alien. His mind is different from ours, which is why he can mentally get into the Archangel Network, even if it does take him this long. You have to trust him!"

"The only people I trust," Kathy put in, "are the people in this room, and Harkness up there on the _Valiant_. I don't know this Doctor from anyone, and he had a chance to clean this up before it even got started. As far as I'm concerned, he gets one chance to put this right…and one chance only."

"I agree with Kathy," Rhiannon said.

"As do I," Toshiko added.

"Look," Martha spun to look at the people around her. "I've seen the Doctor do a lot of amazing things. Yes, he's not perfect…but he can pull this off. You don't know him like I do. It's easy to have faith in someone you know…but it's harder when it's someone you _don't_. The Doctor wants to save everyone, and this is the best chance to do it."

"And what about my dad?" Alice asked hotly. "Does he want to save him too?"

"Of course he does," Martha answered. "Jack's as much a victim as anyone else is."

"No, he's more." Alice got right up in Martha's face. "He's the one the Master tortures and kills for fun, just because he can't die. The Master calls him a freak…and worse. He's suffered and died so many times…and we've all had to sit and watch and do nothing, all because your Doctor has to wait to put this plan into effect. Does he even care that my own father is being put through that? Because, in the times that we've had to see what the Master does to him, it looks as if the Doctor just sits there. He doesn't do anything! He doesn't argue with the Master, doesn't try to talk him out of hurting my dad. When this is all over, and the paradox is broken, is the Doctor going to help Dad get over what happened to him?"

Ianto put his arm around her, giving her his support. Toshiko saw her lean into the touch, and it made her glad that they'd accepted their familial relationship so easily. "Alice," he said, before Martha could rebut her comments, "I'm going to save Jack. I promise you that. But taking it out on Martha isn't the way to go about it."

"I know, Dad," she answered. "But it's just been horrible, having to sit here and do nothing…"

Toshiko knew just how much it meant to Ianto for Alice to have accepted him the way she had, and the soft smile he gave her was just another proof of that. "The plan will go forward," the dragon answered. "In six days, Martha and I will be up on the _Valiant_. No matter what happens, we're going to put an end to the paradox and stop the Master. With any luck, the magic that keeps the valley safe will also preserve your memories. And, if it doesn't, I'll come and look for you. Oh, not after giving your father what-for about hiding yours and Steven's existence."

Alice laughed. "I really want to see that."

"Ianto," Toshiko broke into the family moment, "we'll be ready in case things go badly. Don't worry, you have back-up."

"Good." He removed his arm from around Alice, flipping over his wrist and unbuckling the Vortex Manipulator. He wrapped it around her much smaller wrist. "Your father would want you to take care of this for him."

"Won't you need it?" she asked, stroking the leather.

"No," Ianto answered. "And I don't want the Master to get his hands on it. It may not work right now, but I have absolutely no faith in it not being broken permanently. The Master will know about it, and he could use it to escape."

"He could also find us using it," Toshiko pointed out.

"That too," Ianto agreed. "Besides, we won't need the communication function once we leave here. We know where we're going."

He glanced over Alice's head toward Martha, who was standing there with her arms crossed. Toshiko wondered what she was thinking, at having the alien she so obviously idolized knocked down a few pegs by people she didn't really know. It had to bother her, realizing she would have to rely on those selfsame people to get her to where she'd need to be.

And yet, Toshiko couldn't help but admire her in a way. Martha had traveled the world with only Ianto for company, dodging Toclafane and collaborators and anything else that might have given her away to the Master. She'd shown tremendous courage in the face of the planet's disintegration, and with her family also being prisoners on board the _Valiant_. She certainly had the courage of her convictions, even if those convictions were about an untrustworthy Time Lord.

They would just have to wait and see if Martha was right.

Toshiko only hoped the world didn't have to die if she was wrong.


	16. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Seven

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, darn it.

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter! Thanks to all of you, who are reading and alerting and such. I appreciate you!

* * *

_**Three Hundred and Sixty-Four Days into the Year of the Toclafane**_

It hadn't been difficult to find Professor Docherty at all.

Nuclear Plant Seven was on the outskirts of London…or what used to be London, before the Toclafane wreaked their particular brand of havoc on it. Ianto looked at the battered set of buildings from his perch atop a small rise leading into the complex. The place was now being used to power the shipworks that had taken over most of area; the rockets themselves were about a mile away, and even in the gathering dusk Ianto thought he could make out their silver nosecones against the blood red sky.

Martha stood beside him, hitching the straps of her pack up farther onto her shoulders. The two of them had traveled from Ddraig Llyn, through what was left of Wales and into the heart of what was considered the Master's key territory. It had been nerve wracking; but at the same time Ianto had felt a sense of getting closer to the end, and knew that it was just he and Martha who stood against the Master's plans.

It was daunting. But it had to be done.

They'd talked during their trek through the wreck of Great Britain. Martha had been disturbed by her time in Ddraig Llyn; she'd been certain that the people of the valley had understood the plan and had believed that it would work. It hadn't diminished her own confidence, however, and she'd tried to convince Ianto that they wouldn't need whatever back-up plan that the others had come up with.

Ianto had, in turn, explained to her why his friends didn't have her confidence, going back to the Doctor's deposing of Harriet Jones, and how if he'd simply left well enough alone none of this would be happening. She understood, or at least she said she did, but it didn't change her mind. She still insisted that the Doctor's plan would succeed, and that everyone had to have faith.

He let it lie. As much as he cared for Martha, there were just some things they were never going to agree upon, and the Doctor was one of them.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Martha looked at him fiercely. "You know it."

The dragon nodded, and together they set out toward the power plant.

They knew Professor Alison Docherty was firmly in the Master's pocket, although not by her own choice. Her son was supposed to be captive in one of the camps, and it was only the hope that the Master would let him free that made her do what she did. It was the reason the Resistance had chosen her as their way onto the _Valiant_. Ianto felt bad for her; she had no way of knowing that her son was dead, and it was only the lie that he was still alive that kept her informing to the Master. She was just one more innocent bystander in a year full of them.

There was a chain link fence in the way; Ianto looked around, and then quickly transformed long enough to tear the fence apart. When he was back in human form Martha rolled her eyes at him and called him a show-off.

They made their way across the compound, toward the building that they'd been told was where Professor Docherty made her 'home'. It was a corrugated structure resembling a warehouse, and it was in sad shape due to lack of upkeep. Ianto pulled open the metal door, and then ushered Martha inside; she curtseyed then entered before him, and Ianto made certain the door was shut and bolted before joining her.

The place was full of all sorts of junk; from what they knew, Professor Docherty had been a physicist in another life, but had been conscripted to work in the plant as an engineer. It looked as if she still kept her hand in, judging from the cobbled together equipment that lined the rickety tables they passed.

The professor herself was in her late fifties, although looked older. She didn't catch sight of them at first; she was banging her hand down onto a battered television and muttering things about "missing _Countdown_" and something about "Deses" that Ianto just didn't understand. "Professor Docherty?" Ianto called, trying to get her attention.

"Busy," she snapped, not turning around.

"You've been expecting us –"

"Don't care. I'm busy!"

Ianto rolled his eyes, wondering if Docherty was this eccentric before the Master. "Too busy for Dragon and Nightingale?"

The professor stopped abusing the television, turning to look at them. "So, you're the infamous pair," she noted, looking at them closely. "Yeah, the Resistance did tell me you were coming by. They seem to think you two know how to bring down a Toclafane."

"They aren't really called Toclafane," Martha said. "That's the name the Master made up."

Docherty put her hands on her hips. "Then what are they?"

"That's why we're here." Martha dug around in her pack, pulling out a computer disc in a cracked case. "No one's been able to look into one of those spheres. They just can't seem to be damaged…except once…a lightning strike in South America brought one down just by chance. I have all the data on this."

Ianto, of course, didn't add that dragon-fire seemed to liquefy the Toclafane's armour as well; that wouldn't work well with their plans, and there was no way they wanted Ianto's true nature to get back to that maniac on the _Valiant_.

Docherty took the disc gingerly, as if she was afraid it would bite her. She then made her way over to another long table, where an ancient-looking computer sat. The professor removed the disc from its case and slid it into the tower. "Oh, whoever thought we'd actually miss Bill Gates…" she muttered as the disc booted. "Is this the reason you two walked the world? For a computer disc?"

"No," Ianto answered. "We just happened to stumble onto it." That was the truth; the lightning strike in South Africa had come just two days before they'd arrived in Johannesburg. It had been all they could do to smuggle a copy out before the Master's troops had descended; he hadn't wanted it to get out that there was a way to destroy his Toclafane. Unfortunately neither Ianto nor Martha had gotten a look at the shattered sphere, so they still had no idea what was inside. And it made a good enough cover story to come and visit the good professor.

Data began to fill the computer screen, Docherty's eyes moving quickly as she absorbed the information. "There!" she pointed at the screen. "A current of 58.5 kilo-amperes transferred charge of 510 megajoules precisely."

Ianto could follow what she was saying, in part; but then he'd been an eager student of Toshiko Sato's, and he'd seen the original data before, when Toshiko had checked the disc herself. "Can you recreate it?" he asked.

The professor shrugged. "I think so…" She watched the screen for a moment longer. "Easily, yes."

"All right," Martha said, grinning. "We're gonna get ourselves a sphere."

* * *

In the end, it was ridiculously easy to take one of the Toclafane down.

With Ianto acting as bait, they lured one in between two buildings, where the professor had set up her equipment, and with a judicious use of electricity they incapacitated one of the spheres.

The dragon had to admit that he really wanted to know what was inside. The Toclafane had become one of many of his personal bogeymen over the last year, and it was a fear that he wanted to know more of, the better to understand it. He'd never had to go against one – except that once, in North America, and his flame had managed to destroy the Toclafane before it could report back that there was a real dragon in their midst. He had no idea if one could, in fact, kill him. It wasn't something he wanted to test.

The thing was, it wasn't really necessary to prove that they could damage a Toclafane. It was simply a means to an end: getting close to Professor Docherty by giving them an actual reason to approach her. After taking out a single Toclafane, it would appear that they trusted her, and then they would share with her the supposed plan. She could then report back that they'd been seen and what they were up to.

Easy peasy, as Toshiko would say.

He and Martha managed to wrestle the inert sphere into the professor's warehouse; Docherty cleared a section of work bench off to make room. It made Ianto shudder, looking like some miniature Death Star without power going to it. He only hoped they would be able to crack it before it came back online.

Docherty bumped them both out of the way, going to work on the sealed sphere. "There's a seam here," she muttered, using what looked like a chisel on it. "Yes, there's a magnetic clamp…" She put down the chisel. "If I can just trip it…"

And suddenly, the sphere opened like some sort of metallic flower.

Ianto leaned forward to get a better look, Martha at his shoulder. What was inside would fuel a few more nightmares.

It was a shrunken, wizened human head.

The dragon felt ill. Had the Master done this? Had he somehow corrupted a race of humans and created this abomination?

Suddenly, lights began flickering on inside the sphere. Oversized pale eyes snapped open, and all three of them jumped back in pure shock.

"It's alive," the professor gasped.

"Martha," the head practically crooned. "Sweet Martha Jones…"

Ianto couldn't help but shiver at the sheer _wrongness_ in that voice.

"Lovely, kind Martha Jones," the Toclafane went on. "You helped us to fly…"

"What is it talking about?" the dragon demanded, looking at his traveling companion.

Martha looked as confused and disgusted as Ianto felt. "What do you mean?"

"You led us to salvation," the sphere answered. "The skies are made of diamonds."

Martha obviously knew what that meant.

Her hand clasped Ianto's arm so tightly it would have caused bruises on anyone with lesser skin. "No," she denied weakly. "It can't be…"

"Martha," Ianto asked sharply, trying to break her out of her shock. "What is it?"

She was shaking her head. "You can't be him…"

"We share memories," the Toclafane giggled. "You sent him to Utopia…"

"Oh God," Martha was almost hyperventilating, the horror in her dark eyes like a shroud.

Ianto knew; of course he knew the moment the head used the word 'Utopia'. Martha had told him that story on their travels, of how the TARDIS had gone trillions of years into the future and had seen the remnants of the human race. How she, Jack, and the Doctor had helped those last survivors launch a rocket toward somewhere they only knew as Utopia.

How the kindly professor whom they'd helped had been the Master in human guise.

"What are they?" Professor Docherty was asking, her face pale.

Ianto shivered as Martha answered, "They're us…the human race from the future."

It made so much sense, why the Master had wanted to create the paradox in the first place. Martha had also told him that the Doctor had damaged the TARDIS just enough that the time ship could only travel between two different times: the far future and Ianto's present.

Martha confirmed that with her next words. "The Master stole the Doctor's time machine, but the coordinates were fused. It could only travel from 100 trillion years in the future…to when the last place the TARDIS had left, which was over a year ago."

He wanted desperately to sit down. This was worse than anything his own imagination had come up with. Had the Master done this to those far-flung humans? Or had they done it to themselves and the Master had taken advantage of the situation?

"We saw the future humans, and tried to help," Martha went on. "The Utopia Project was their last hope…"

"It was a lie," the Toclafane sounded petulant. "No safety…no diamonds. Just the cold and the dark. So we made ourselves pretty."

"You did this to yourselves." Martha sounded as ill and Ianto felt.

"The Master came, and he had a time machine, and he brought us all home." There was such sick joy in that child-like voice.

"But you can't exist here!" Docherty exclaimed. "This is impossible! You can't come to the past and murder your ancestors! That would cause a paradox!"

"But the Master has the paradox machine," Martha said. "It's why he needed to create it: to ensure the paradox."

If Ianto hadn't been determined to end the paradox before, he was now. What they'd discovered from the downed Toclafane made him want to immediately go up to the _Valiant _and wring the Master's neck with his bare claws. It was only the idea that they'd be up on the carrier tomorrow that was keeping him from rushing up there.

The Toclafane was cackling, and the sound put Ianto's nerves on edge. He wanted nothing more for it to shut up, and without thinking he drew his gun and shot into the housing, putting a bullet right between the _thing's_ eyes.

Afterward, when the shock had worn off, Docherty had come right out and asked about the rumours about the so-called gun that would kill a Time Lord. Martha had explained, and had shown the professor the weapon that Toshiko had gadgeted together. It was their cover, and it was a good one; although anyone with a lick of sense would know that the Doctor would never have sent Martha for a gun and then asked her to use it. That was why Ianto was around, because he was more than capable of wielding a gun…just ask the dead Toclafane he'd just shot.

Docherty seemed to buy it, which was good. Martha had become quite the actress in the last year, and she totally sold it, explaining enough about Time Lord physiology to make the idea of a last resort weapon seem reasonable. After all, Docherty would be reporting to the Master after they were gone, and he had to believe her.

Ianto felt sorry for the professor, but once they broke the paradox none of this will have occurred and her son would be back.

Afterward, they left the nuclear plant, heading toward the slave quarters at Bexley, making certain Docherty also had their destination. Ianto was shaken by what they'd discovered about the Toclafane, and just how insane the Master's plan truly was. Bringing the future to conquer the past…it was twisted and obscene, and Ianto knew they had to fix it. It was no wonder the Great Dragons and the Fae had been unable to see any deeper into the future.

Tomorrow would be the day things would go back to the way they should be.

Ianto might not have all that much faith in the Doctor, but he did have faith in _that_.


	17. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Eight

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter Eight

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry.

Author's note: I'm trying to post these a bit faster from now on, so you don't have to wait so long. Thanks everyone, for reading and reviewing and all that. You are all the best!

* * *

_**The Year of the Toclafane Ends**_

When the guards came to release Jack from his chains in the bowels of the _Valiant_, he'd been certain the Master had something nasty planned for him. After all, he knew what the date was, and he'd been expecting something horrible to happen by way of 'celebration' at the upcoming destruction of the known Universe.

When he found himself being led up to the command deck, Jack admitted to himself that he was somewhat confused, especially when it looked like only himself, the Doctor – in a gilded cage hanging from the ceiling – and the Jones family were present. He glanced at them, and each of the Joneses gave him the indication that they had no clue what was going on.

The Doctor simply looked old and sad.

After a few minutes Lucy Saxon came in. Jack actually felt sorry for her; she looked wan and pale, although she had a smile on her face. He had to wonder if she'd had to put up with as much pain from the Master as Jack himself had.

And so, they waited.

Jack knew what they were waiting for. Soon things would end in fire and death, and the Master would want witnesses. He looked over at the Doctor in his cage, and cursed him for not having done more.

Yet, at the same time, seeing the once-energetic Time Lord reduced to that…Jack felt pity for him. He couldn't help it. In that way it didn't matter that the Doctor hadn't seemingly done anything in the last year, leaving Jack and the Joneses to fend for themselves. Yes, there had been that last escape attempt, but what had that gained them? The Doctor diminished so completely that it had rung what very little hope Jack had had left in the Time Lord.

All he had left was Ianto, and hopefully Jack's team. As long as they were out there somewhere…even if the Universe burned, the ones he cared about most were most likely down on the ground, doing what needed to be done.

The double doors at the rear of the room were flung open, and the Master entered, practically bouncing toward the front of the deck, tapping his fingers on the table as he made his way around to the control area. He looked unbelievably smug, and Jack knew that couldn't bode well for any of them.

The Master moved up to the upper level, and then turned to look at his captive audience. The smirk on his face made Jack feel ill. "I thought you might all want to say hello to an old friend."

Jack turned, and all hope completely failed him.

Four guards escorted Martha onto the deck…accompanied by Jack's mate.

Jack wanted to move toward Ianto, but the soldiers around him kept him back. Ianto's eyes flickered toward him, and then went straight back to the Master , and Jack wished more than anything that the dragon was anywhere but there, because him being captured meant…well, he didn't want to even consider what that meant. Did the Master know that Ianto was the last of the dragons? Or was he still unaware of Ianto's true nature?

The guards brought Martha and Ianto to a halt in front of the steps leading up to the control deck. The Master grinned down at them, as if he were their true lord. "The Nightingale and the Dragon…at last." He hopped down two steps, his hand held out. "The teleport device," he ordered, and it sounded almost playful. "In case you thought I'd forgotten."

Ianto shrugged. "It's gone," he answered, his head held high. "It was lost somewhere in North America. Besides, it didn't work anymore anyway."

Jack's Vortex Manipulator…gone. His heart sank lower, knowing there was now no way for either Ianto or Martha to escape the _Valiant_.

The Master's grin turned into a frown. "You expect me to believe that?"

It was Martha's turn to shrug. "Your men searched us," she pointed out. "If we'd still had it, they'd have found it."

The Master didn't look happy, but he said, "It's not important." Then he threw his arms wide. "Down below, the fleet is ready to launch. Two hundred thousand ships set to burn their way across the cosmos." He glared at the pair. "Kneel."

Ianto and Martha glanced at each other, and then both did as the Master ordered. Jack was a bit puzzled; none of them looked particularly bothered by the fact that they were at the mercy of a genocidal maniac. Did they have some sort of plan? If so, they'd need to set in motion soon…the countdown to launch was inexorably approaching, and Jack could feel the anxiousness creeping through him like thousands of ants scuttling across his nerve endings.

The Master turned his face toward the ceiling, where Jack knew microphones would pick up his every word. "Are we ready?" he called out.

"_The fleet awaits your signal," _a man's voice answered.

The manic grin returned to the Time Lord's face. "Three minutes to align the black hole converters. Counting down!" He made a grand gesture, and a rather large digital clock on the wall began to click the seconds away. "Never could resist a ticking clock," he laughed, throwing his arms out once more. "My children…are you ready?"

"_We will fly and blaze and slice," _the horrible child-like voices of millions of Toclafane echoed over the speaker, causing Jack to shiver. He didn't know what they were, but they frightened him in ways he simply couldn't describe.

"When the clock strikes zero," the Master intoned, "to mark this day of victory, both Martha Jones and her protector will die." He looked down at the kneeling pair. "Any last words?"

Jack wanted so much for Ianto to say something…anything. To perhaps spit in the Master's face, showing the maniac the 'respect' he deserved. He also wanted his mate to turn and see him standing there, and Jack wanted nothing more than to spend the end of the world with the dragon he loved more than anything in his arms.

Ianto said nothing. His posture – even though he was kneeling – didn't look at all concerned.

He had to have a plan…

"No?" the Master snorted. He turned toward the aged Doctor. "Such a disappointment, really. Not that long ago, Doctor, you had companions who could absorb the very time vortex! But this one and her friend…absolutely useless." He looked back at Martha and Ianto…and the puzzled expression on his face was an absolute delight to see.

Both of the Master's 'prisoners' were laughing.

A cloud of anger crossed the Time Lord's face. "What's so funny?" he demanded, stepping completely down onto the deck, giving up the high ground in his fury.

"A gun?" Martha asked.

"A gun in four parts?" Ianto added, snorting.

Jack had heard about the so-called gun; he hadn't believed for a minute that the Doctor would have sent Martha anywhere after a weapon, but apparently the Master had.

"Yes," the Master growled. "I destroyed it when I captured you!"

"A gun," Martha went on, "scattered in four pieces all around the world? Come on! Did you really believe that?"

The Master was getting angrier and angrier. He reached into his jacket for his laser screwdriver, and Jack tensed, hoping he could make the leap across the deck and block the coming shot with his own body. He wasn't about to let either Martha or Ianto get hurt if he could avoid it.

Although, he couldn't help be wonder just what they were doing on the _Valiant. _ The Master had obviously thought the weapon was real, and had chased them for it. It had apparently been a red herring. But why?

There had to be something Jack was missing, which made sense since he'd been a prisoner for so long. The Jones family looked as much in the dark as he did.

But the Doctor was moving in his cage, his liquid eyes staring out at the Master. "As if I would ask her or anyone to kill," his ancient voice floated weakly over the room.

It then hit Jack all at once.

The Doctor had had a plan all along.

Something he'd told Martha, and it was obvious that Ianto knew as well. Jack hadn't been let in on it and while it did hurt to have been left out it made more sense to keep him in the dark, not knowing what the Master might try to torture out of him.

Jack felt hope again.

"It doesn't matter," the Master brushed off the Doctor's comment. "I have her right where I want her."

"But we knew," Martha went on. "We knew about Professor Docherty, and that she'd betray us. The Resistance knew about her son."

"We used her," Ianto confirmed. "We knew going to her would get us here. We even told her about the gun."

"To get here," Martha added. "At just the right time."

Jack stood there, listening to the two of them, and felt such a sense of pride race through him. This was his lover, his mate…on his knees in front of the worst mass murderer him human history, and yet he wasn't beaten.

He could see the trepidation on Francine and Clive's faces, but they were also so obviously very proud of their daughter. Tish was openly smiling.

"But you're still going to die," the Master snarled, brandishing his screwdriver.

"Aren't you even going to ask?" Ianto piped up.

"Ask?"

"Yeah," Martha answered. "Don't you want to know why we walked the Earth?"

The uncertainty in the Master's face would have been comical if Jack had been in the mood to laugh. "Tell me," he ordered.

"I told a story," Martha said. "No weapons…just words. I did what the Doctor asked me to do: I went to every continent, me and Ianto, and I told everyone we met a story."

Jack frowned. That was the plan? Some sort of story? He knew he must have been looking as confused as everyone else…except for the Doctor, whose wizened hands were gripping the bars of his cage.

"I told them all about the Doctor," she went on. "And I told everyone we met to spread the word about him. And I gave them an instruction. I told them that if everyone thinks of a single word, at a particular time –"

"What?" the Master scoffed. "You told them to pray?"

"Not hardly," Ianto snorted.

"I didn't tell them to pray," Martha denied. "I told them to think of this one word, at the same time…with the power of the Archangel Network to boost the signal."

Jack couldn't believe it; he had to grin at the simplicity of the plan. Using the telepathic field of the Archangel Network, Martha had essentially usurped the Master's hypnotic control of the planet.

It really was brilliant, he had to admit.

Everything Martha was saying was tumbling together in the Master's mind; Jack could see him come to the conclusion a bit slower, but then he'd been so very confident of his technology he couldn't have even considered someone would have used it against him.

"That word…is _Doctor_."

The clock struck zero.

Jack was a bit telepathic; he'd been trained by the Time Agency and knew what a very powerful telepathic signal felt like. It rolled over them all like a vast wave, and the energy of that telepathic signal seemed to swirl around a single figure.

The cage around the Doctor came apart under the onslaught, and a golden glow began to twist and writhe around the ancient Time Lord. The Doctor's body grew, slowly returning to its normal size and appearance.

The Master screamed, "No!" and aimed his laser screwdriver at the regenerating Time Lord.

The beam bounced off the energy surrounding him.

"I've had a year to attune myself to the psychic network and to integrate with its matrices," the Doctor said, his voice echoing with power. "This is the power of human thought; you cannot stop them from thinking."

It was all Jack could do not to close his eyes and surrender himself to the telepathic storm that surrounded the Doctor. The Joneses hadn't been able to; they were chanting the Doctor's name, as were the guards who were supposed to be watching him. Even Lucy had been caught up in the signal.

The Master was screaming at the Doctor to stop, ranting even as he was backing away from the glowing Time Lord. Both Martha and Ianto were on their feet, and Jack could tell that his mate was also fighting the effect of the Archangel Network. The Master fired once more, yelling obscenities.

When he realized that the screwdriver wasn't going to work, the Master aimed it at Martha. "I'll kill them both if you don't stop!"

Jack's heart jumped in terror, but even as he was taking his first step forward the screwdriver flew across the room. "I'm sorry," the Doctor was saying as he glided toward the now cowering Master. "I'm so very sorry."

With those words, Jack's anger at having spent a year in captivity, of being tortured and killed and taunted roared back to life. Why was the Doctor apologizing to the bloody _Master_? It was the Master who'd done all this; it was the Master who'd nearly destroyed the whole fucking Universe with his missiles and his hate.

The Doctor was whispering more platitudes as he reached out to gather the Master in his arms. The maniac folded into himself, and as the glow around the Doctor faded Jack heard three words he'd never expected to hear.

"I forgive you."

Jack wanted to scream and rail against those words. How dare the Doctor forgive that bastard? He didn't have the right! It hadn't been the Doctor's planet that the Master had destroyed in his insanity; it had been Jack's, and the Doctor didn't have the effing right to forgive that monster anything!

The Master then screamed for the Toclafane, and Jack was running before he even knew what was happening. This was the opportunity they needed, to destroy the paradox machine once and for all. For all that he wanted to wrap his arms around his mate and hold him, Jack had a duty to the planet Earth, and it was time to fulfill it.

Jack raced through the corridors of the _Valiant_, needing to get to the TARDIS and stop the paradox. People were behind him, and he didn't even look back. If they meant to stop him, he would go down fighting…and it looked as if that wasn't their intention at all. They must have all broken through the control the Archangel Network had had, and were now acting to save things instead of destroy.

Three Toclafane guarded the TARDIS.

Jack knew what he had to do.

He'd made it this far once before, during one of his many escape attempts. He'd been unarmed then; now, he had a machine gun he'd taken from one of his guards on the way out of the control deck. He racked the slide and began firing as he made his way toward the TARDIS; although the bullets had little effect, it kept the Toclafane from doing too much damage to him. Still, he'd been bloodied more than once, and it was with a loud whoop that he entered the TARDIS for the first time in a year.

He could feel her around him; the time machine was so very sick, the awful red light of the paradox bathing everything in its lurid glow.

Jack used the last of his bullets to destroy the paradox machine…after a silent apology to the TARDIS if he hurt her.

The floor lurched, and Jack was thrown sideways as a loud boom sounded through the TARDIS. He fetched up against the bottom of the console, and held on as best he could, riding out the storm that had to have been raging outside the machine.

He let out another whoop as things stopped pitching.

Standing, Jack rested his hand on the TARDIS's console, feeling her familiar presence once more. "Welcome back, lady," he whispered.

Her thanks were obvious in his mind, as were her apologies for everything he had gone through. Jack remembered back on Malcassairo, when things had first started, and the TARDIS had convinced him that he'd needed to be there. Now he knew why.

Jack forgave her.

He just wasn't sure he would be able to forgive the Doctor quite so easily.

With that thought, he turned and left the TARDIS. Although he loved her dearly, he hoped it would be for the last time; he didn't want to travel anymore.

Jack left the TARDIS and ran back toward the control deck, needing to find his mate. All he wanted to do was hold onto Ianto and never let him go.

What he saw when he arrived was not what he'd expected, although he should have.


	18. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Nine

The Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Nine

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry

Author's note: Hello, everyone! I was going to wait to post this tomorrow, but I'm in a really good mood (RL seems to finally be looking up) and I decided to give you this tonight. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**The Year of the Toclafane Ends (continued)**_

"_I forgive you."_

Ianto growled at the words. He'd expected something like this; that the Doctor would put his own needs over the fate of an entire world. That he would accept the Master, and everything that he'd done in that terrible year, and think that he would have the right to simply forgive that bastard for his actions against the races of the Earth, and that it would be just fine.

He glanced at Martha; she didn't seem happy about it either, judging from the way she was worrying her lower lip with her teeth. The dragon couldn't blame her; the pair of them had seen hells the Doctor couldn't dream of, all caused by the monster that the Time Lord rocked in his arms like a child.

And then, the Master called for the Toclafane. The child-like voices cried out as they answered the call, and Ianto could see from the large front window that the orbs were flying straight for the _Valiant._

Without turning, Ianto knew that Jack had left the deck, just from the fading out of his presence in the dragon's awareness. When he'd felt the power that kept Jack immortal scratch at his mind once more as he'd been escorted onto the control deck, Ianto had wanted to rejoice; it had been far too long since he'd felt that close to his mate, and it had been all he could do just to glance at Jack for the very short time he'd had, before his attention had gone back to the Master.

But what he'd seen of his mate…Jack had obviously lost weight, and he'd been filthy, covered in dirt and old blood and yet still looking defiant. It had made him both angry and proud, and he'd sworn he'd take his mate home and look after him once things were done.

He could guess where Jack was going: to the heart of the paradox, to destroy the machine that kept the Toclafane in the past. He would trust his mate to do what was needed, while Ianto took care of his own business with the Doctor and the Master.

He stepped forward. "Stand away from him, Doctor," he ordered, sickened by the display before him. The Master had apparently completely collapsed under the strain of the Doctor's renewal; and Ianto was angry that this supposed plan seemed to have been simply to help the Doctor regain his strength. All that time, walking the planet, and it had only led to this.

So much for that. At least Ianto could trust Jack to set things right.

The Doctor looked up from his position kneeling beside the cowering Master. "I'll take care of him now," the Time Lord said. "He's my responsibility."

"No, he isn't," Ianto answered. "He stopped being that the moment he set the Toclafane against the Earth. Now he must face justice for what he's done."

The Doctor glowered at him. "And you think you're the one to carry out that justice?"

Ianto narrowed his eyes. "No, not me," he countered. "But I claim the right to become the avenger of my mate, and what he has done to me and mine."

His statement seemed to startle the Doctor, and he took a harder look at Ianto. It was evident the moment that he realized the 'man' standing over him wasn't a man at all. "You're not human," he all but accused.

A smirk slid over Ianto's face. "Let's just say that my Resistance alias was more than just a codename." He let his eyes take on their draconic appearance, and he was gratified at the Doctor's shock as he put things together.

"But there aren't any of you left!" he exclaimed.

"I am the last," Ianto admitted. "And I have claimed the right of vengeance against the Time Lord calling himself the Master, for the crime of injuring my mate and for harming and killing my Named dragon-friends. If you know anything about my culture you will know how serious my claim is."

Before the Doctor could respond, Ianto felt _something_ twist in the air around him; it was as if he were sensing an extremely powerful Rift spike approach. He knew exactly what it was, even before the Doctor shouted, "Everyone down! The paradox is reversing!"

Ianto could feel the sheer _wrongness_ of the paradox as he was tossed to the deck, and he grabbed ahold of Martha to keep her from being thrown about. She clung to him as Ianto tried to keep them from being injured, the power of the vortex screaming around them, time feeling like pins and needles along his every nerve ending. Ianto clenched his jaw to keep from crying out in pain, and blackness nibbled at the edges of his vision. He tenaciously held on to consciousness though, knowing if he gave into the darkness he would lose whatever advantage he had.

His pride in his mate grew, knowing it had been Jack to reverse the paradox.

Just as quickly as it had begun, the time storm was over, and the _Valiant_ ceased its shuddering. Ianto gingerly picked himself up, helping Martha to her feet. One look outside showed a clear blue sky, and no sign of the Toclafane.

Time had rewound, and things were back to how they were before the coming of the Toclafane.

The world was alive once more.

"The paradox is broken," the Doctor proclaimed, getting to his own feet. "We've reverted back one year, to two past eight in the morning, just after the American President was assassinated. None of it ever happened."

"But I remember it," Francine Jones spoke up. Ianto turned to look at her; she would have been a handsome woman if not for the worn look about her.

"We were at the eye of the storm," the Doctor explained. "We're the only ones who will remember what happened."

A flurry of movement caught Ianto's attention, and he spun, reaching out and grabbing the Master as he tried to dart past him. "I don't think so," he snapped. He spun, slamming the fleeing Time Lord against the large conference table.

He let himself take on his dragon form, keeping his grasp on the Master.

The dragon towered over the Time Lord, pinning him to the table with one large hand, his claws digging into its surface and forming an unbreakable cage. The Master's face was twisted in rage, but his eyes showed only fear.

"I claim the right of vengeance," the dragon roared, his anger soaring high. Everything that his mate had endured…that his friends had endured, called for it. "As the Great Dragons are my witness, I demand it!"

"_And you shall have it," _the voice of the Earth Dragon echoed throughout the control deck.

They were there, the four Great Dragons and their Named Friends, each Dragon coiled like thick smoke around the forms of their chosen. Toshiko and Kathy both smiled at him; Alice looked fierce, as if she wished she was the one holding the monster down onto the table – and she most likely was thinking that very thing; and Rhiannon was stern, her arms crossed over her chest as she surveyed the scene before her.

Just beyond the Dragons and their Friends, the dragon saw Jack practically careen back into the room, stopping and staring at the sight. He could tell the moment he recognized Alice among the Dragon-Friends by the incredulous expression that crossed his too-pale face.

"_Greetings, Doctor," _the Earth Dragon said. _"We are the Dragons of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, and we have existed on this world for longer than recorded history. We remember the dinosaurs and the great explosion that destroyed them; we welcomed the race humans have called the Silurians, but are known by an older, more honourable name; we befriended the ape-creatures who would, one day, become the dominant species on this planet. We raised the dragon-kind out of barbarism and into the light, and watched as humanity slowly killed all but this last one. We made the Pacts that balance the Earth and keep it from complete chaos. We also remember this last year, and felt the Earth dying around us as you waited for the moment to strike. Your inaction has lost you any right to the Master that you might have had, if you had reacted immediately to stop what was going to happen. He now belongs to our son, and to the Earth. It is they who will pass judgment upon him."_

"He's a Time Lord," the Doctor argued, "my own kind. If anyone has the right to pass judgment, then it's me."

"_And what would you do with him?" _the Air Dragon demanded.

"The only safe place to keep him is in my TARDIS," he answered, lifting his chin in defiance. "He and I are the only Time Lords left in existence. I should be the one to hold him."

"You would keep him prisoner on your ship?" the dragon scoffed, his claws gouging deeper into the tabletop. The Master lay quiet under his hand, but he didn't think that would last long.

"I would."

"And if he should escape?"

"He won't," the Doctor answered assuredly.

"You cannot guarantee that," the dragon responded. "He will eventually escape, and more innocents will suffer. Are you willing to risk more deaths just so you would no longer be the last?"

The Doctor's expression turned pleading. "You're the last of your own race. Certainly you can understand the loneliness of being the only one left."

"I can," the dragon answered. "But what you do not understand is that I have had to make that choice: to save one of my kind, or to protect innocents." He swallowed hard, memories of Lisa's madness resurfacing. He pushed them back down, needing to focus on the here and now. "I chose to be alone instead of the destruction that would have been unleashed if I had chosen to save her. Can you do the same?"

"There's always another choice!" the Doctor argued.

"Then tell me what that choice is?" the dragon challenged. "The Master…or innocent lives. Tell me, Doctor…give me that third option."

"Let me deal with him," the Time Lord urged. "I'll make certain he never harms anyone else."

"That's not an option. Or have you not been listening? The Master cannot be trusted into your keeping. If he should escape and regain control of your TARDIS, then untold damage could result. You simply cannot guarantee it in any way that we would believe you."

"_There is still the matter of the vengeance for your mate," _the Air Dragon reminded him.

"I haven't forgotten," the dragon assured her.

"But if you're the last," the Doctor said, confused, "then how can you have a mate?"

The dragon looked over at Jack. "My mate is Captain Jack Harkness," he answered proudly. "I have sung the Song of Commitment to him."

"Jack?" the Doctor scoffed. "He can't be your mate."

"And why is that?" the dragon inquired, anger overtaking him once more. At the corner of his eye he saw Jack stiffen in outrage.

"For one thing, he's not even a dragon!"

"_Jack Harkness has been the destined mate of our son for over fifteen hundred years," _the Water Dragon answered.

"_Have you not looked into his future?" _the Fire Dragon asked. _"Have you not seen what he is destined to become?"_

"He's wrong," the Doctor refuted. "It wasn't any sort of mystical destiny that made him into a fixed point…it was a teenaged human with a head full of time vortex and not enough control. He should never have been made immortal."

"You will not speak about my mate in that manner," the dragon snarled. "I have dreamt of him ever since I was a young dragon. He is mine and I am his. You know not what you're talking about." He'd seen Jack go pale at the Doctor's words, and he wished he could wipe away the Doctor's disdain.

He looked down at the Master; the monster was grinning up at him, as if he'd been given a great present. "You're mated to the freak?" he chortled. "Oh, this is priceless!"

"Be quiet!" The dragon leaned just a bit of his weight against the trapped Time Lord, and the Master choked a little. "You will not speak."

"_The fate of the one known as the Master is no longer in your hands," _the Earth Dragon said, bringing the conversation back on track. _"It is in the hands of our son, and of the humans he injured."_

"Time has been turned back," the Doctor answered. "No one remembers that year."

"We do."

All eyes turned to Francine Jones.

She looked at the Doctor defiantly. "My family and I remember it all," she went on. "We're the witnesses you're looking for."

"Francine," the Doctor said, his eyes widening. "What are you doing?"

Clive stepped up next to her, almost at the same time as Tish did. "We remember it all, Doctor," he echoed her.

"We remember all the deaths," Tish added. "We remember what Jack sacrificed for us." She turned to smile at Jack, who promptly walked over and put his arm around her in support. "What did you do, Doctor? What did you do to help anyone?"

"Mum…Dad," Martha said, moving toward her family. "Tish…what are you saying? The Doctor had his plan all along, and it worked."

"You saw it, Martha," Francine said. "You spent a year seeing what the Master was doing."

"The Master treated us like dirt," Tish added. "He tortured and killed Jack, over and over again."

"You weren't up here," Francine went on. "You don't know what we went through, while the Doctor sat and did his whatever it was, and he didn't raise a hand to help us. The Master was given free rein to hurt and humiliate us. And the Doctor does what? Chooses that bastard over the ones he held captive? Over the world that suffered under his rule?"

"You're all better than this!" the Doctor exclaimed, his eyes wide in surprise.

The dragon realized then that the Time Lord wasn't used to having people question his motives like this. He might have gotten some joy over that fact if the situation wasn't so awful.

And then, Alice stepped forward, the Air Dragon accompanying her. "Jack Harkness is my father," she announced. "I saw over the Master's broadcasts what he did to him, and it was sheer evil. Nothing will ever make me forgive him for what he did to my dad."

The look of pride on Jack's face shone like a beacon. He released Tish, and in three strides was pulling Alice into a fierce hug, tears running down his face. "I love you, so very much," he murmured just loud enough for the entire group to hear.

"I love you too, Dad." She hugged him just as fiercely.

The dragon's heart wanted to expand out of his chest with the joy of his family being back together after so long. He hadn't been certain that any of the Dragon-Friends would remember the year, and he was so very glad they did, if just for this reunion.

It was Toshiko's turn. "I work with Jack at Torchwood," she said. "He saved me from a horrible place, and he's like a brother to me. I witnessed the Rift storm that destroyed Cardiff from my computer and through CCTV, and it was caused by the activation of the paradox machine. And the Master laughed about it, in one of his broadcasts. He laughed as people died. How can you expect me to forgive that?"

"Sounds like Torchwood to me," the Doctor snorted.

"Yeah, well you don't know anything then," Kathy argued. "I might not get along with Harkness all that well, but I know the good that Torchwood does. I'm just an ordinary copper who got caught up in all this mess, but it was the ordinary people who suffered the most under the Master's rule. How many died in his work camps? How many did the Toclafane murder just because the Master ordered them to? How can you excuse that?"

The dragon nodded. He'd seen what Kathy was speaking of, and while he hadn't been near Cardiff he'd heard about the Rift storm from both Owen and Toshiko.

"The Earth was dying under the Master's rule," Rhiannon was next. "We could feel it, fading a little each day. If time hadn't turned back, this planet would have been dead within months. And what about the rest of the universe? What about trillions upon trillions who would have been killed by the rockets? How can you condone destruction like that on such a scale? Do you even care about the innocent? Because it certainly doesn't seem that way to me."

"_It seems as if the victims have spoken,"_ the Earth Dragon said. _"What have you to say about these charges, Doctor?"_

"How can you all remember?" the Doctor asked, avoiding the subject. "Time turned back; you should all have forgotten!"

"_There are more who know what happened than what you might think," _the Fire Dragon answered, laughing.

"_Our power shielded those who came to our valley," _the Water Dragon added. _"There are many witnesses to what had been wrought."_

"You should have let them forget," the Doctor charged.

"No," the dragon said, angry that the Time Lord was being so cavalier about the people in Ddraig Llyn. "You have no right to make that sort of decision."

"_Our son is correct,"_ the Earth Dragon declared. _"He has demanded the right to avenge his mate. That right will be upheld."_

"Jack," the Doctor pleaded. "I'm begging you to let me handle the Master. Don't let this happen."

Jack stared at the Doctor, so many emotions in his expression that the dragon couldn't describe them all. "Doctor," he said, "I waited so long for you, only to find out that you abandoned me and can't stand the sight of me. Ianto is the only person who has accepted me for who I am; he's loved me despite everything and wants to commit his eternity to me. No one has ever wanted to protect me…to avenge what was done to me…and I can't help but love him all the more for it. It may not be in your nature to exact revenge on a monster who's hurt someone you love, but it is in my mate's. And, after suffering for an entire year under the Master's so-called mercies, I can't help but want that revenge. I know that disappoints you, but then you haven't made how you feel about me a secret." He turned his gaze toward the dragon, his eyes smiling. "I love you. I swear to honor you, to protect you, to avenge any wrongs done to you, and to love you for eternity."

Jack's words echoed the vows that were given in any dragon mating. His gaze softened as he said, "I love you. I swear to honor you, to protect you, to avenge any wrongs done to you, and to love you for eternity."

"_So it shall be,"_ the four Dragon intoned, echoed by their Friends.

The dragon could feel the magic in the binding, and could see that Jack did as well. This was a mating in everything but the flight, and if that never happened he could be completely content.

"Well, that's just so sweet," the Master drawled, his voice a little breathless from the weight of the dragon's hand pinning him to the table. "Do we get the honeymoon now, or are you going to kill me and get it over with first?"

The euphoria of the mating broke suddenly at the nasty tone. The dragon looked down, baring his teeth. "Are you so quick to die?"

"Seems like I don't have much of a choice," the Master answered, wriggling as much as he could…which wasn't a lot.

"Don't you see?" the Doctor tried one last time. "He wants to die. You'd be giving him what he wants."

The dragon glanced up, seeing the Doctor's appalled face staring at up at him. "Then perhaps I should do exactly that."

It only took a simple flex of a single claw, and a year of hell was finally over.


	19. Dragon and the Nightingale Chapter Ten

The Dragon and the Nightingale - Chapter Ten

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, sorry

Author's note: Well, this is the last chapter of The Dragon and the Nightingale. There's a short, three chapter epilogue after this, and then we'll move on to Series Two. Thanks everyone for reading, you make me want to write.

Now, on with the rest of the story!

* * *

_**6 June 2008 **_

The Doctor left with the Master's body as soon as he could get away.

Jack had managed to search it first, finding a small controller that he couldn't figure out what it was for, and he destroyed it quickly, before it could fall into less scrupulous hands. There were quite a few guards still on the _Valiant_, and Jack didn't trust them not to still be loyal to the Master despite the disruption of the Archangel Network and of the Time Lord's demise.

There was also Lucy Saxon, but she'd shattered at her husband's death. She would only be a danger to herself anymore, and Jack made sure that she would be taken care of. He felt sorry for her, having been under the Master's thumb almost as much as he and the Joneses had been, and he didn't want her mistreated simply because the Master had damaged her.

There had also been a ring; Jack thought he recognized the design on it, and it took him a few minutes for him to recall the Master's mentioning Professor Lazarus, but then Jack remembered those particular events from the UNIT reports he'd been forwarded. He promptly confiscated it, not wanting it to disappear only to come back to haunt them some day. It would find a new home in Torchwood's Secure Archives.

He would have preferred to take control of the Master's body as well, to incinerate it, but Ianto had actually convinced him to let the Doctor perform whatever death ceremonies the Time Lords did. Jack could see the point of it, to give his former friend some sort of closure, and so agreed. He knew the Doctor was mourning, and Jack knew what that was like intimately.

The TARDIS was gone almost before he could authorize the UNIT troops Colonel Mace had sent up to help with the clean-up to release the corpse to the Doctor. The Colonel hadn't been happy; apparently he knew the myriad stories of how the Master had appeared truly dead only to appear later on with another nefarious scheme in the works. But in the hours since the Master's death there had been no sign of regeneration, and Jack felt confident that the Time Lord really was dead for the final time.

After the Doctor was gone, Jack knew it would be a very long time before he saw either him or TARDIS again, and if he did it wouldn't be by the Time Lord's choice.

A part of him was disappointed about it. He couldn't lie; he'd waited for so long, and he'd really believed that the two of them would still be the friends they'd been back before the Gamestation. But there was too much water until that bridge, even before the Doctor had destroyed it with his callousness.

Jack really just wanted to curl up with his mate and his daughter – who was a Dragon-Friend, which he really wanted to hear how _that_ had happened! – and let the world handle itself while he attempted to re-center himself. Everything that he'd been through was weighing him down, and he needed time to heal a bit before going back to Torchwood. Being with his mate and his daughter and grandson would go a long way to bringing him that peace.

Knowing that Alice wore his Vortex Manipulator was simply icing on a fantastic cake; it might not work anymore, but Jack would still have felt lost without it. Plus she was actually proud to wear it, so when she offered it back he'd told her to keep it for the time being. It was safe in her capable hands.

Alice, though, had gone back to Ddraig Llyn with the Great Dragons and the other Dragon-Friends, saying that the Air Dragon needed her help to teleport back. She'd promised to wait for him there, and Jack knew she would. His heart had swelled when she'd hugged Ianto before she'd left, and it was obvious that she'd accepted the dragon's role in her dad's life.

Seeing her there had been a miracle, but moreso when she'd spoken up for him. Their relationship had been so fractured…Jack had held out little hope that they would ever be any sort of family. But that had changed when she'd faced down a Time Lord to defend him. He knew they were both too stubborn to ever have their lives together be smooth sailing, but Jack was willing to try.

But he and Ianto had a duty to help in the clean-up. It was another thing in which he would never be like the Doctor; Jack would always try to stay and at least attempt to work to fix things, even if he felt like he was walking on a knife's edge, balancing between duty and falling apart. At least Ianto was there with him; Jack didn't think he'd be able to handle it if he was alone. There were far too many bad memories on board the _Valiant _and it was only the need to do the right thing that had kept him there.

The Doctor had also left Martha behind, although it had been at her request. Jack could tell that the implicit trust she'd once had in the Doctor was cracked, during the confrontation after the paradox had broken. She'd been very silent, but Jack could see the look in her eyes as she realized that the Doctor was going to choose the Master even over her own family. She'd come to Jack, not long after the TARDIS had left, and told him that she'd informed the Doctor that she'd meant to stay to help with the aftermath since he wasn't willing to. Jack knew that had to have been yet another slap in the Doctor's face.

Besides, Martha added, her family would need her to help them handle what had happened.

It wasn't even a couple of hours after she'd come to him to let him know she had stayed behind when he'd been approached by Colonel Mace himself, and had inquired about Martha and if she would be willing to come to work with UNIT. He'd been impressed with her after the story of the Year that Never Was – which was what the official UNIT reports were going to call it – had come out. Jack had encouraged him to ask her, even though he'd planned on asking her to come to work for Torchwood. Working for UNIT meant that Martha could stay in London, and be close to her family. Plus they could all take advantage of UNIT's psychological services, and Jack knew that the all the Joneses would need that sort of support and it wasn't something Torchwood had the resources to give, at least not at that time.

The Joneses had also literally adopted Ianto almost from the moment everything was over. Jack could tell the dragon was a bit embarrassed by the attention, but in the end it was obvious that he was charmed by the entire family. Each of them had told Ianto that they were grateful he'd been able to do what they considered the right thing concerning the Master, and Francine had made both of them promise to come to dinner the next time they had the chance to be in London.

During the one quick search he'd been able to do, Jack had managed to find his confiscated greatcoat hung up neatly in a closet that was in a cabin that had obviously been taken by one of the Master's higher-ranked guards. Jack had no idea why whoever it was had wanted to keep it, and he never found out who it was, but he was grateful, and would arrange to have it cleaned as soon as he could. He didn't like the idea of anyone but him – and possibly Ianto – wearing it.

But he hadn't been able to find the ring Ianto had given him.

It wasn't in the Master's rooms, or on the Master's person when Jack had searched his body. When he admitted it to Ianto, the dragon had simply said, "It's all right."

"But it was your father's –"

"Jack," the dragon said, "it's just a ring. You are more important. I would have rather have it lost, than you."

The words comforted him, but he still felt guilty for losing it, and he could tell that Ianto was sad about it being gone.

He couldn't rest; that wasn't going to happen while they were on the _Valiant_, no matter how tired he was. He kept busy the entire day, and Jack knew he must have looked like hell when Colonel Mace told him to, "Get the fuck off this ship and pull yourself together, Harkness. You've been through enough. Oh, and take that Second of yours with you."

UNIT had already shuttled the Joneses back to London hours earlier, or else Jack would have argued. As it was, Mace had a point; both he and Ianto had been through a lot, and deserved the time off. At least he'd been able to shower and borrow some fatigues from one of the UNIT troopers, so he no longer looked like a refugee from a slasher flick.

Besides, the _Valiant _was a UNIT vessel. Torchwood had done all it could with the clean-up, and could leave the rest to the true owners.

Jack sincerely hoped he'd never have to set foot on board her ever again.

He found his mate in the flight prep area, with Jack's greatcoat slung over his arm. Ianto raised an eyebrow as he spun a finger to indicate that Jack should turn around. Sure hands pulled the heavy wool up Jack's arms and over his shoulders, settling it where it belonged. A caress through Jack's too-long hair made him shiver slightly, and then Ianto was in front of him. "I take it Mace talked to you?"

Jack snorted. "More like ordered us off his ship. Not that I'm going to argue with him."

"We've done all we can," Ianto agreed. "I know you hate leaving things half-done…"

"So do you," Jack pointed out.

The dragon smirked tiredly. "But you're right. I'm not going to argue with him. Let's go home. Alice, Steven, and Estelle are expecting us at Ddraig Llyn."

They'd gotten a call from Toshiko not long after the Dragon-Friends had left, letting them both know that she, Kathy, and Owen were going to head back to Cardiff right away. Gwen had already been on the phone, looking for Owen; she'd known that Ianto had planned to go to London to try to stop the First Contact, and the dragon was really the last person Gwen would have called anyway. Toshiko had said that they didn't want to leave Gwen on her own too long, because they had no idea how the Rift would react now that the paradox has been reversed. It was also lucky that Owen had managed to somehow hold onto his mobile long enough to be able to leave it in Toshiko's safe keeping while he helped out with the Resistance.

Owen hadn't thought that way, though, judging from the rather loud cursing that had been going on in the background.

They'd told Toshiko not to let Gwen know what had happened; both Jack and Ianto had decided that she, at least, should not be burdened by the weight of terrible memories that the rest of the team would have. It seemed the kindest thing to do.

"I can't wait to get home," Jack said, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around his dragon. "I just want to curl up and sleep next to you."

Ianto embraced him in return. "I've missed you so much," he whispered.

Jack didn't say anything; but then, he didn't have to.

After a few moments of simply standing there and luxuriating in his mate's presence, Jack let go but only stepped back enough to gaze into Ianto's eyes. "Let's get out of here."

Ianto nodded, smiling softly.

Together they made their way out onto the flight deck, the winds whipping the tails of Jack's coat about his legs. For a split second fear slammed into him, remembering the last time he'd stood on the deck, and Ianto's hand on his arm brought him back. "It's okay," he answered loudly over the wind, seeing the dragon's look of concern. "It's just the one time I was up on the flight deck, the Master threw me overboard."

Ianto's lips curled up into a snarl even as he was pulling Jack back into his arms. "I shouldn't have given him such a quick death," he growled softly, and Jack shivered slightly at the sensation of Ianto's breath against his ear.

"No," Jack replied. "You're not a heartless killer, Ianto. You did what had to be done, but you could never have been like _him_."

He felt Ianto nod, and then the dragon pulled away. "Will you fly with me?"

Jack's heart was already soaring. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do…" he then leered, "well, that's not exactly true…"

Blue eyes rolled. "We'll see about that later. Right now…let's go home."

With those words, Ianto stepped back, and the familiar golden glow surrounded his human form. It stretched and changed, and in seconds the magnificent dragon stood in his place, his emerald scales gleaming in the sunlight.

Jack made his way over, and the dragon leaned down a little, offering his leg for him to use to clamber up onto his back. Jack did, settling just in front of the mighty wings, his legs hooked around the wing joints and his arms looped around the long neck. The dragon's warmth seeped through him, and Jack felt at peace for the first time in a year…that had, of course, never existed.

Great wings unfurled, catching the winds that blew across the _Valiant_'s flight deck, and the last dragon lifted into the air. Jack leaned forward, resting his cheek against his mate's neck, as together they flew home.

* * *

_**Unknown Time, Somewhere Within the Time Vortex**_

The TARDIS was unhappy, and the Doctor didn't care.

He'd burned the Master's body on a pyre that he'd built on the shore, just outside a small English village that the Doctor didn't know…and didn't care that he didn't. The loss of his once-friend – turned enemy – had hit him harder than he'd thought. And it didn't help that he found himself abandoned by Martha, even though she had a good reason for leaving. She'd even given him her phone, so she could call him if needed, but the Doctor had some thinking to do before he allowed himself to return to Earth.

He considered the lot of them to be ungrateful and cruel.

The Doctor stalked around the console, shoving his hands deep into his trouser pockets. His knuckle hit something solid; he pulled it out, exposing the ring he'd found in one of the Master's pockets.

It was of rich, red Welch gold, with an oddly-shaped blue sapphire set within it. A man's ring, heavy and masculine, the ages of its existence throbbing against the palm of his hand as he held it. It was full of magic…and of love, so full of each it made his hearts ache. The engraving on the inside was in a language that had long been dead, and the translation made the ache even worse.

He recognized it as the ring that Jack had worn back in London…the one that he'd claimed to have come from the man he'd said he loved. The Doctor hadn't been quite so distracted as either Jack or Martha had thought and had heard the entire story.

Of course, Jack had left out the part where this so-called love of his life was the last dragon in the Universe.

The Doctor snorted a laugh. The last dragon. When the man who'd traveled with Martha had changed shape like that, it had been a shock, although the Doctor had recognized him as not being human. He'd long thought that the dragons were gone; he'd known of them, having met at least one in his travels to the far past, and he'd mourned their passing when it had come to his attention that such great and magical creatures were gone.

Now, he was wishing he'd never met this one.

He was well aware of dragon culture. They were, at heart, honourable creatures, and the Doctor had known the minute this one had claimed revenge on the Master that there really hadn't been much he could do, unless he could talk him out of it. What he hadn't counted on was that this one's so-called mate had been Jack Harkness; and that his being the last would not have played into the Doctor's favour. Still, he'd had confidence that the others in the room would have backed him in his quest for mercy.

Oh, he'd been so wrong.

Even now, he could hear the words that had condemned the Master to his final death. The Doctor had to admit, there were some points that he couldn't argue against, but he'd foolishly believed that the Joneses and Jack would have followed his lead.

He hadn't counted on the Great Dragons and their companions showing up.

The Doctor had always considered the Great Dragons to be myth, a legend that the rest of dragon society worshipped much as many other cultures had their own gods and goddesses. Never had he thought they were real, and that they'd show up and champion the planet like they had.

Their Dragon-Friends had also been a surprise. The Doctor hadn't expected that the Dragons would have been so deeply involved in Torchwood's dealings; surely they knew what Torchwood represented? And they condoned this so-called mating with the last of their race and Jack Harkness, of all people?

The facets of the stone cut into his palm, and the Doctor loosened his grip on the ring. He was angry, yes, but he knew if he dug deeper into his feelings he would see that there was also a tinge of jealousy in there, as well. An inner voice that sounded suspiciously like his Eighth regeneration had a tendency to call him a coward whenever a companion got too close; only Rose had managed to get under his skin, the only companion that had since the Time War had changed him, had broken him. Eight had been the one to bring destruction down on Gallifrey, but he'd also been the one to embrace his companions completely, even taking one as a lover.

_Spiky dark hair, slender fingers strumming a guitar, a battered leather jacket that his Ninth regeneration had chosen to wear in honour of the companion who'd stolen his hearts...and who he'd had to leave behind when he'd been recalled to Gallifrey to fight…_

The Doctor viciously thrust those thoughts down, back into the box that had held them for so long. No, he couldn't afford to let anyone get close, knowing that he would outlive them.

Jack apparently didn't have that problem.

He must have let others into his heart, if he had a daughter to show for that relationship. And he'd chosen to mate with a dragon, of all creatures. And a team…he had a team, a family to call his own. The Doctor had none of that anymore, and it left him feeling bereft.

Jack had taken a chance on having his heart broken, knowing that he would outlive his family and his lovers. If the Doctor was honest with himself – and he wasn't sure he wanted to be – then Jack truly was bigger on the inside, willing to love people who would, one day, leave him behind.

The Doctor didn't know if that made Jack a fool…or the most 'human' human he'd ever met.

Angrily, he shoved the ring back into his trouser pocket. No, Jack wasn't human…he was _wrong_, a fact, a fixed point in time…and, if the Great Dragons were to be believed, it was what he'd always been meant to be.

He snorted. No, he didn't believe that for a moment. Of course, there was an easy way to find out, but the Doctor scoffed at it. He didn't have to look at Jack's personal timeline to see anything. He already knew everything he needed to.

Jogging around the console, the Doctor flipped switches and turned dials, wanting to get as far away from Earth as possible.

The TARDIS was unhappy…but then, so was her pilot.


	20. A Time of Rest Chapter One

A Time of Rest - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, which is too bad really.

Author's note: Hi, everyone! Here it is, the first chapter of the last story in the Year of the Toclafane. This is a short one, only three chapters, and shows how the boys deal with things after the year. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**6 June 2008**_

Jack had never felt freer than he did in that moment, riding on the back of his dragon, as they flew toward Ddraig Llyn.

A year. A year in hell, with only his thoughts and pain and humiliation for company. It had been thoughts of Ianto that had kept him sane and grounded, even as he did his best to look after the Joneses and tried to keep the Master's attention on himself so they wouldn't suffer as much.

But now, he was free.

The wind whipped strongly around him, and Jack leaned farther over his dragon's neck in order to keep his eyes from drying out too much. The ground below them strobed past; he didn't know how fast they were flying, but it had to have been close to full speed, judging from how quickly the landscape changed. It didn't matter; Jack wanted to get to Ddraig Llyn as fast as Ianto did. He wanted to see his daughter and grandson, and to spend a peaceful moment with his family before they all had to go back to the real world.

Jack also wanted nothing more than to reconnect with his dragon, after that last year of torment.

His arms tightening around that strong neck, Jack closed his eyes and let his body absorb the heat that his dragon radiated, letting it seep deeply into his bones, hoping it would burn away the ghost pain that was still within him, even though there were no outside wounds. Jack ached, and just this contact was like a balm to his soul.

He found himself wanting more.

_Soon_, he told himself, before letting his mind drift into to comfort his dragon offered just by being that close.

Jack lost track of time, content to just _be_, as they flew. He'd missed Ianto so much during that year; he remembered the time when he'd thought the dragon had died in the Rift storm that had devastated Cardiff, before discovering that he was traveling with Martha and was very much alive. During that time Jack had been _empty_, so very empty, and he really had not much memory of anything before realizing that the Master needed to be distracted from the Joneses once more. But there had been such a rent in his soul where he now knew his dragon had taken up residence…it had swallowed him whole.

If Jack had had any real doubts that he and Ianto were meant to be together, they had died in that moment.

And their words on the _Valiant_…Jack knew they'd come from the dreams he'd had of their mating. It seemed almost appropriate, that they'd pledged themselves to each other after that year of being separated, even though it had been over the very creature that had torn them – and the world – apart. Jack would insist on another form of ceremony later, once things were settled a bit. He truly wanted to be mated, and he would make sure that would happen.

Jack wanted to spend eternity with his dragon. Nothing was going to stand in the way of that, he vowed.

A sudden change in flight angle brought Jack out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes…to see Ddraig Llyn spread out beneath him. He hadn't been back to the valley since he'd met Ianto all those years ago, and he hadn't been on dragon-back at that time…the difference in perspective was amazing. Jack sat up a little, squinting against the wind, and just drank in the sight. The place exuded a peacefulness that Jack craved, almost as much as he craved closeness with his family…and his dragon.

By the time they'd landed on the village green, the entire populace had come out to meet them. Jack clambered down from the dragon's back, basking in the welcome he was receiving. Everyone here knew what had happened to him, and they greeted him with an honor that he wasn't certain he deserved.

"Dad!"

His heart leaped at the call. Turning in the direction of that voice, he barely had a chance to open his arms before Alice was hugging him fiercely, even more fiercely than she had on the _Valiant_. He returned it, thanking whatever deities he could think of for bringing Alice back to him.

Another set of arms hugged him, these around his waist, and Jack knew that Steven had joined his mother in the embrace. He let one arm drop to gather the boy to him, and he didn't even bother trying to stop the tears from falling.

The last year might have been horrible, but it had regained him his family. Jack was determined never to lose them again.

A third set of arms, and then a fourth, were wound around him, cocooning him in love and warmth. Jack let himself fall into that security, accepting it like a penitent asking for forgiveness.

Only in this case, there really was nothing to forgive.

Jack was home. Finally, he was home.

Once again he lost track of time, wrapped up in comfort. He'd missed this…a simple embrace. The only touch he'd had over the last year had brought pain; this brought safety and love. Jack relaxed completely, for the first time in what felt like forever.

Eventually though, the group hug broke apart, and Jack found himself within a circle of the dearest people in his life…including Estelle. He broke into a grin. "What are you doing here?" he exclaimed.

"We'll explain everything," Ianto said, now in his human form. "Let's go somewhere more comfortable."

Jack was curious, but let himself be led toward the Green Dragon Inn. The villagers who'd gathered let them pass, the ones closest to them holding out hands or simply smiling in welcome. Jack was overcome by their welcome and their support, and the tears that had eventually stopped threatened to begin all over again. He saw several villagers that he'd met in his first time in the valley, back before he and Ianto had taken over Torchwood, when he'd been an outsider to Ddraig Llyn. It was apparent that he had their full support now, where before he'd been slowly tolerated.

There was also John Ellis, who actually stopped him and embraced Jack, whispering his welcome into Jack's ear. He was one of Torchwood's successes, and Jack had once despaired of the time-lost man, but being in the valley had obviously helped him.

He thanked John, and then moved on, Alice draping one arm around his waist as Steven tugged him forward by a hand. Ianto held the other hand, twining his fingers with Jack's, and Estelle walked beside the dragon, looking as serene as Jack had ever seen her.

"_Welcome home, son."_

The procession stopped, and they turned in concert with Jack and he faced the Great Dragons, who had materialized just off the green. They were much more solid than they'd been on the _Valiant_, and each of them was smiling.

"Thank you," Jack said sincerely.

"_You have no need to thank us," _the Water Dragon spoke again. _"It is we who must thank you, for what you have done over the year that no one but those here will remember."_

"But I do," Jack insisted, tightening his grip on his loved ones. "You saved my family. You brought them here, and protected them."

"_They are our family as well," _the Air Dragon said, looking at Alice and then back to Jack. _'There was no choice in the matter but to bring them here to safety, and they were also of great help in protecting this valley and whoever outside this place that they could."_

"_Rest awhile here," _the Earth Dragon replied. _"You have all been through too much, and have need of peace. All too soon the outside world will call you back to it, but before that occurs heal yourselves as much as you can. Be well, children. Nothing can harm you here."_

With those parting words, the Dragon faded. Jack sighed, a smile tugging at his lips. Yes, that was what he needed…a chance to heal, to be among people he loved more than anything.

Yes, he did wish the rest of the team was there, but Jack trusted them to look after Cardiff until he and Ianto returned. For now, he would stay with his family, and rest.

"C'mon Dad, Ianto," Alice urged. "Rhiannon practically has a feast prepared. We don't want it to get cold."

Ianto looked at her sharply. "And what happened with you calling me Dad as well?"

Jack stared at his daughter. She'd been calling Ianto 'Dad'?

Alice blushed faintly, but she laughed. "In dragon-form, you're Dad. When you're human, you're Ianto. I don't think I could get past saying that to someone who looks like…well, my much younger brother, or something."

It had been one of the reasons Alice had often called Jack by his name: the notion that he wasn't aging at all, and seemed on the outside to be too young to have had a child her age. Jack couldn't blame her for it at all.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "So, you have no problem with calling a dragon – who isn't human – your father but not me? Alice, has anyone ever told you that sometimes you don't make a lot of sense?"

Did Alice just stick her tongue out at Ianto?

Jack couldn't help it; he laughed, a deep, hard laugh that came from his belly, and it felt absolutely wonderful.

Rhiannon had really gone all out, food spreading over three entire tables in the Inn's restaurant. As hungry as Jack was, he ate slowly and carefully, not used to having a lot on his stomach. He sat with Ianto on one side, Alice on the other; Steven was being kept busy by Rhiannon's two children, whom according to Alice Steven had struck up a close friendship with.

She also explained that Steven knew now that Jack was his grandfather, and not his uncle. Jack was stunned at the complete about-face Alice had made, but she'd explained that she'd learned quite a bit about him from the other Dragon-Friends and Estelle, and it had given her a perspective that she had not had just from the stories her mother had told. She admitted that there would be times when they would most likely not see eye-to-eye, but Jack knew that was to be expected.

Ianto told him that he'd asked Toshiko and Kathy to bring Estelle with them when the Great Dragons had called them all to Ddraig Llyn. Estelle had joined them, and the three of them told Jack of what they'd been up to over the past year. The day passed quickly as they shared their lives, and while some of what they told him was harrowing, he couldn't help but simply enjoy the closeness he had between these three who were so dear to him.

"I think I'm going to stay in Ddraig Llyn for a while," Estelle admitted, relaxing back into the chair she'd taken after their meal, Moses sprawled out across her lap, purring so loudly Jack could hear him from the sofa he, Ianto, and Alice had claimed. They were relaxing in the Inn's lounge, everyone else leaving them alone. "There's so much I want to learn, and Rhiannon and the Great Dragons have offered to help me."

It should have surprised Jack more that Estelle had turned out to be some sort of magic user – simply because of his stance about magic actually existing – but for some reason it seemed quite natural for his former lover to be gifted that way. Estelle had always been close to nature, and that was even without the contact she'd had with the Fairies. He remembered seeing all the crystals and books she'd had, and felt ashamed that he'd scoffed at her beliefs.

"Steven and I have a life back in Cardiff," Alice said. "I took time off from work when the Air Dragon called me here, and I have the whole of next week before I have to head home." She sighed. "It's going to feel strange going back to our regular lives, after what happened over the previous year…which hasn't been a year for anyone else."

"That's going to be the hardest," Ianto agreed. "Knowing everything we went through, but the rest of the world has no real idea what the Master had done. As far as anyone else is concerned, Saxon assassinated the American President and was then killed by Winters' Secret Service Agents. The Toclafane were just a hoax to get the President here. At least, that's the story UNIT is going to put out."

Jack had approved that story as well before they'd left the _Valiant_; it made the most sense of what had actually occurred. "At least our team knows," he said, taking Ianto's hand and squeezing it.

"Everyone but Gwen," Ianto corrected.

"You're not going to tell her?" Estelle asked.

Jack shook his head. "It's better this way. She can still have that innocence, of not knowing what the Master had done to the world. I don't want this hell on her conscience; it's bad enough Ianto, Tosh, and Owen know."

"And don't forget about Kathy," the dragon reminded. "She might not be Torchwood, but she's as much family as anyone else…especially now that she and Tosh have gotten together."

Jack started, knowing that he had to look stupid with his mouth hanging open in shock. "What? Our Toshiko and Detective Inspector Swanson?" He was stunned by that revelation. It was quite possibly one of the last things he'd expected.

Alice laughed. "Tosh said you'd be surprised. But yes, they're a couple now."

"Well," Jack grinned, suddenly very happy for his technician…and for himself, knowing that spark of jealousy that would always rear its head when Ianto and Swanson went out to eat together wouldn't be there anymore…or it may be, but he could ignore it now. "If anyone deserves to be happy, it's Toshiko." After her inadvisable infatuation with Owen, and then the events with Mary, it was about time Toshiko found someone who could be good for her. "I guess this means I need to give Kathy the Talk…"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Maybe I should have let you do that with Joe. You might have scared him off."

"Next time you gain a significant other, send them my way," Jack teased. He knew that Alice really didn't mean it; if he had been around when she'd been dating Joe Carter, and had scared him off, then Steven would never have been born. And, if there was one thing Jack knew for a fact, was that Alice wouldn't have traded her son for anything.

They talked all day, and into the night, Jack enjoying the conversation even if some of the events were terrible. There were laughs though, as Ianto talked about some of the people he and Martha had met, and some of the things they'd seen. But there was also the horrific mixed in with the good, and Jack shared a bit of what had also happened to him, although some of it had already been known to Alice and Estelle, from the few broadcasts the Master had made. Still, it helped to talk about it, and by the time Jack was yawning he felt as if a great weight had lifted from him.

He hoped it would only get better from then on.

The moment Ianto saw the first yawn, he was chivvying Jack up from the sofa, and bidding their family good night. Jack didn't argue, instead hugging both Alice and Estelle and promising to talk more tomorrow. Steven had long ago gone to bed, and Jack's heart had warmed when the boy had called him 'Granddad'.

"Rhiannon had my old cave cleared and stocked with plenty of pillows and blankets," Ianto explained, tugging Jack gently toward the outside.

Jack stopped him, wrapping his arms around Ianto tightly. "There's nothing I'd like more than to sleep beside you," he whispered. It had been a long time since Jack had actually slept, and he was looking forward to simply curling up with his dragon for the night. He wasn't even looking for sex; that would come later, but for now he just wanted the intimacy of sleeping with his mate once more.

Ianto stepped out of the embrace, his human form glowing and morphing before Jack's eyes. Within seconds he'd climbed back onto the dragon's back, and they were flying once more over the valley, this time with only the stars and the waxing moon overhead to light their way. Once again Jack felt incredible freedom, and he whooped with joy as they soared together. He could feel more than hear the dragon laughing as a rumbling against his legs, and Jack joined in, for once not worried about the wind and throwing his arms out wide, using his knees to keep his grip on Ianto's sides.

He was free.


	21. A Time of Rest Chapter Two

A Time of Rest - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, sorry.

Author's note: Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the last story in the Year of the Toclafane arc. One more chapter after this one!

Now, I need to put a warning on this chapter. Toward the end there is some very explicit material, so if you're not into that sort of thing, you can pretty much skip it. This material is of a **dragon/human** nature, so please beware if you don't want to read Jack being with Ianto in his natural form.

Those who continue reading...I hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**7 June 2008**_

Jack awoke, feeling warm and comfortable, and not wanting to move. He was surrounded by his dragon's heat, back against hard yet silky scales and his head resting on a supporting foreleg. A wing covered him better than the finest duvet, keeping him hidden from the rest of the world.

Last night had been rough, but Ianto had been there with him as the nightmares had come, soothing him with quiet dragonsong when he'd been driven awake by the terrors that had visited him in his dreams. Jack could feel the dragon's massive lungs expanding against his back, and he sighed, relaxing even further into the knowledge that is mate was with him, and that nothing was going to hurt him in their cave.

"Are you awake now?"

Jack couldn't help but smile as the dragon's rumble echoed through the tent made by the massive wing. "Yeah," he answered, stretching.

The wing rustled slightly, and a pair of slitted blue eyes appeared in the sudden opening, smiling down at Jack softly. "Good morning," the dragon said.

"Good morning," Jack said back. He reached up a hand, and the large head was lowered so he could stroke the strong jaw. Ianto's eyes shuttered closed, a contented expression on his features.

"I missed you," the dragon whispered, hot breath puffing over Jack's palm.

"You kept me sane," Jack confessed, running his fingertips over the fine green scales. "Thinking of you…it kept me from going crazy." He didn't say anything about the time he'd thought that his dragon was dead; that was far too painful.

"All I wanted to do was come for you," the dragon replied. "Every day that you remained the Master's prisoner broke me a little but more. And when I saw you…"

A tear slipped out from under the dragon's closed eyelid, and Jack brushed it away. "It's going to be okay," he said. "We're finally together, and nothing is going to tear us apart."

The dragon opened his eyes, and the love in them took Jack's breath away. "Nothing, Jack. I swear to you. Nothing will take me away from you."

Jack believed him.

The dragon managed to chivvy Jack out of their nest and down the mountain, where Rhiannon had breakfast waiting. Alice and Steven joined them, as did Estelle, and it was a lively meal that had Jack relaxing even farther, the previous year fading more and more the closer he and his family became. He hadn't even known what he was missing until he had it, and he would hold onto this moment of time fiercely in his memory.

After breakfast and some of Ianto's amazing coffee – which Jack had missed, although not nearly as much as he'd missed his dragon – he noticed Rhiannon whispering in Ianto's ear, and the dragon nodded then following her into the Inn's kitchen. Frowning slightly, Jack went to follow…and Estelle cut him off, a definitely mischievous look in her eyes. "So, Jack," she said, resting her hand on his arm, "I wanted to ask, if you and Ianto would keep an eye on my house while I'm here? I don't know how long I'm going to stay, and I don't want any sort of disasters happening and then not being found for weeks at a time."

"We'll be glad to," he reassured her. Estelle had lived in the same house for decades, and he knew how much she loved the place despite the trouble with the Fae.

She smiled up at him. "Thank you, I appreciate it." She moved away, leaving Jack to head back toward the kitchen in search of his dragon.

"Dad!" Alice called, and Jack turned to wait for her. She was smiling slyly, and Jack wondered just what she was up to.

"What is it, sweetheart?" he asked as she approached.

"Nothing," she answered, "I just wanted you to know that Ianto went outside."

Jack frowned. "I could have sworn he went into the kitchen…"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "All I can say is he told me to tell you he'd be outside."

"Thanks, Alice." He kissed her on the forehead, and then went in search of his wayward mate.

His daughter had been correct; Ianto was out on the lawn, already having changed back into his true form. Laughing eyes turned to look at him, beckoning him forward.

Jack looked at him askance as he joined his mate. "Just what are you up to?" he asked.

He saw the answer in the shape of a rather large basket sitting on the ground between the dragon's front feet.

"Today is for us," the dragon answered. "I know a deserted place where we can spend the entire day, just the two of us. We need to reconnect, and this is our time."

Jack found himself wanting that more than anything.

He swung himself up onto the dragon's back, and they were in the air, arching over the lake that had given the valley its name. The water was a crystal blue beneath them, and the sun was warm on Jack's back as together they flew toward the mountains and away from the village.

Jack wondered where they were going, but he was certain Ianto knew more private places in the valley than anyone, having lived there for so long. He really wanted to spend alone time with his mate, and he wrapped his arms around the sinuous neck as they flew, happy to have this time alone with the dragon he loved.

They seemed to reach their destination in no time: a secluded dell, with large boulders on two sides, a mountain on the third, and a gentle slope leading down toward the lake on the third. The dragon came in for a landing, careful of the basket that he was carrying hooked in one of his claws. Once he'd set it down out of the way, he settled all the way onto the ground, and Jack slid off, looking around the clearing with interest.

"I would come here often when I was younger," the dragon explained, "when I would want to privacy from my family. Later, this was a refuge for me, when the demands of being among humans became too great. It's a wonderful place for swimming, and for sunbathing on the rocks."

Jack grinned. "Swimming sounds wonderful, but I didn't bring any swim trunk with me."

The dragon rolled his eyes. "Like it's not something I haven't seen before."

That brought a bubble of laughter from deep within Jack, and as it burst forth he quickly stripped off his clothes. He clambered up onto a rock outcropping that extended over the water, and he glanced back, asking silently if it was all right to dive.

The nod barely came before Jack was hitting the water.

It was cold at first, but Jack soon warmed up as he swam deeper and deeper, the water a clear blue. He could see a deep drop-off not that far offshore, and was stroking closer when a large school of fish swam up from the depths, startling him. He laughed internally as he turned toward the surface, breaking for air and finding himself about one hundred yards away from the bank, not realizing he'd swum that far.

The dragon was nowhere to be seen.

Jack was going to head to shore in order to find him, when a sudden surge lifted him up into the air, and it took him a second to realize that his mate was surfacing from underneath him, and he laughed as he rose higher, supported by the familiar, warm body. Throwing out his arms, they wrapped around the dragon's neck, and let himself be dragged back onshore.

He flopped down onto the grass, taking in a deep breath. "Did you take lessons from Nessie or something?" Jack teased. "Your imitation of a lake monster is spot-on."

Ianto snorted, settling his large body down next to Jack's. "I've been doing it longer than she has! Besides, you know Archie's been training her especially to scare the tourists."

Jack laughed again, feeling light and happy for the first time in so very long. The sun was warm against his bare skin, and he closed his eyes, relaxing into the coolness of the grass.

He had no idea how long he lay there, his mind just floating, peace surrounding him like a comfortable blanket. Jack thought he could stay there forever, just him and his dragon, and never go back to Cardiff and the real world.

And then he realized that his duty would always call him, and he would listen to that call.

But he also realized that he'd always have Ianto with him, and that would make everything all right.

After a while, Jack rolled over and onto his feet. He took in his dragon, sprawled out on the grass on his side, eyes closed, and breathing deeply in repose. He looked like some sort of enormous green cat, loose-limbed and soaking up the sun.

His heart swelled, and he knew beyond a doubt that he would love Ianto forever, that he wanted to spend all the time he had with his dragon, and nothing would change that.

"You're staring at me," Ianto murmured, not opening his eyes.

"I thought you were asleep."

"Almost," came the drowsy reply.

Jack moved closer, kneeling beside the dragon's large head. "You know I really love you, don't you?"

Now one eye did open, and it regarded him fondly. "I do, Jack. And you know I feel the same way."

He reached out, stroking along the dragon's jaw, tiny scales there supple against his fingertips. Ianto hummed in pleasure, nuzzling Jack's fingers gently, his eyes closing once more.

Jack continued touching, moving from jaw back toward the ear slot, and then around under the dragon's neck. Ianto lifted his head, giving Jack's questing fingers better access, and he took the invitation, his hand following along the gradually larger scales, lightly brushing along the curve of the neck.

"I want to touch you," Jack whispered.

"I thought you were already doing that," the dragon sighed.

"I mean, I want to touch you…every part of you, just as you are now."

He felt the dragon shiver. The eyes opened again, regarding him closely. "I can transform –"

Jack shushed him. "I've wanted to do this for a long time, but we just never did. I know your human form…now I want to know your dragon form as well. Please…let me?"

"You don't even have to ask."

It was Jack's turn to shiver. He'd been with non-humans before; in fact, he'd often bragged about tentacles and multiple genders and other exotic sexual experiences, but this would be the first time he'd ever made love to Ianto in his dragon form. He knew he wouldn't be able to do much beyond using his hands, but he could give as much pleasure as possible, which was his only goal.

He wanted to show the dragon just how much he meant to Jack, and that was accepting his natural form as well.

Jack continued to touch and explore, and Ianto turned slightly, exposing his belly. For some reason, that small movement sent a jolt of arousal straight through Jack, and he took the invitation, running hands down the dragon's shoulders and across his chest, making note of the noises coming from Ianto, committing to memory the places where the dragon was most sensitive, wringing sighs and moans from his mate that were music to Jack's ears.

The scales on Ianto's chest became larger the lower his hand traveled, and were a lighter green as well. Jack knew that the dragon's chest and stomach were the most heavily protected areas of his body, and yet they also seemed to be the more responsive, and as his hands moved lower his mate's breathing became shallower.

Jack was growing more and more turned on the more aroused Ianto became. He began pressing kisses against the hard plate armor covering the dragon's chest, tonguing across the smooth scales. Jack could taste the cleanliness of the lake water on those slick plates, and a spiciness he could not identify, but it drove him onward, wanting to experience even more.

"_Jack_," the dragon whispered, the name laden with such want that it almost made Jack come then and there.

He continued on, touching with hands and lips and tongue, moving lower and lower on the dragon's pliant body, until he found himself at Ianto's groin. Jack knew that his penis was protected by a pair of thick armored plates that slid back to give access; those plates had done just that, and the cock that stood erect there was very impressive indeed.

Jack's hands itched to stroke, and he let his instincts guide him, running his palms along the heated length. The flesh was a very pale green, longer than Jack's forearm and much thicker, without the foreskin a human penis would have; the head was slightly more triangular, and it was already leaking pre-come. Jack couldn't resist tasting.

An intense shudder passed through his lover as Jack's tongue licked into the slit, the dragon's salty essence exploding in Jack's mouth. It was addictive, and he wanted more, pressing his lips as far around the tip as he could, sucking hard in order to get every bit he could.

The soft keen he heard spurred Jack on.

Keeping one hand on the dragon's cock in order to hold it still, Jack trailed his other down over the protruding scales and toward Ianto's entrance. His mate whimpered, sliding his tail out of the way of Jack's questing touch, allowing him to run the palm of his hand over the quivering hole.

There was a vague disappointment in Jack that he wouldn't be able to play with Ianto's balls, with them being under all that hard armor, but that didn't last long as his ministrations sent his mate into a frenzy of cries, Jack's name sounding like a prayer as Jack licked and sucked and rubbed and touched. The noises Ianto was making drove Jack wild, his own erection heavy and throbbing, but he didn't want to stop what he was doing in order to bring himself off.

And then, the dragon began to sing.

It was a soft song, and while Jack didn't understand what he was saying, the emotions were clear: it was a song of love, and bonding, and pleasure, and it filled Jack with a heat that had nothing to do with arousal, and yet the song added to it, bringing him closer to the edge even as he took his dragon with him. The sense of connection he felt grew, and Jack let himself simply _feel_ as he brought his mate to completion.

He had to back away slightly when Ianto came, hot come nearly scalding as what he couldn't catch in his mouth struck Jack's face and chest. The very feel and taste of it sent Jack spiraling to his own orgasm, and he gasped Ianto's name even as the dragon called Jack's in his pleasure.

Jack came down from the emotional and physical high, and carefully tucked his dragon's penis back under its protective armor. He looked up, finding blue eyes looking at him, hazy with love and desire. "No one has ever touched _me_ like that," he admitted, the emphasis on 'me' letting Jack know exactly what he meant.

He put on a cocky grin. "So, I was your first as a human, as a man…and a dragon?"

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Don't ruin the moment, Jack."

That leer faded into something more intimate. "Never," he murmured, scooting forward enough to reach out and touch the dragon's cheek.

"Do I need to help you?" his mate asked.

Jack felt himself blushing…which was something he didn't do often. "No need. I came just from touching you…and the noises you were making." And the song…

"Let's get cleaned up, and then maybe we can think of another round…this time with me as a human," the dragon suggested. "I really want to touch _you_ this time."

Jack became aware of the cooling semen on his upper body, and nodded. "Last one in the water gets to bottom!" he exclaimed, laughing as he launched himself toward the lake.

It didn't really didn't matter who hit the water first.


	22. A Time of Rest Chapter Three

A Time of Rest - Chapter Three

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry.

Author's note: And here we are to the end of this part of the Dragon-Verse. Thanks to everyone who have supported this story, either by reading, commenting, favorite'ing, or alerting, you are all very much appreciated.

I thought to go on into Dragon-Verse Series Two, and then realized that I couldn't, because there are some things going to happen that rely on at least one of the future stories I have written. Now, since I haven't posted any of those future stories here, there could very well be some confusion about certain events that do occur in Series Two. So, I'm going to go ahead and start posting the future stories first - there are three of them, two multi-chaptered ones, and then get into Series Two. So watch out for those next.

And now, on to the end. Thanks again!

* * *

_**14 June 2008**_

The week went by quickly…almost too quickly.

Jack couldn't recall the last time he'd actually had a vacation, and this was as close to one as he could think of. He spent all of his time with his family, and his mate, just relaxing and letting the events of that horrible year fade into the back of his mind. It didn't all go away, and Jack knew it would be a long time before he fully recovered, but he had the love and support of those around him, and it made the burden a bit easier to bear.

He wasn't the only one with bad memories. There were a couple of nights where he would be awakened by Ianto's sharp movements, and Jack had simply taken his large head into his lap, stroking the fine scales until the nightmare passed. Helping Ianto made Jack feel a bit less needy the times when he'd come out of the murkiness of restless sleep to hear a soft song whispering around him.

They kept in touch with Toshiko, calling her every day. Ianto had bemoaned the fact that the technician had taken all the computer gear that she'd used over that year back to the Hub, wanting to download every piece of information she'd gathered into Torchwood's mainframe for posterity. The dragon had claimed they would have been able to keep track of what was going on back in Cardiff with that gear, to which Jack had simply rolled his eyes and had asked his mate if he'd always been this controlling or was this something new he'd just discovered.

Ianto had sniffed and hadn't deigned to comment.

That Friday morning they all met for breakfast, as they had every morning. Alice had decided that she and Steven were going back to Cardiff that day, and had offered Jack and Ianto a ride back. Toshiko and Owen weren't expecting them back until Saturday, and Kathy was helping out as she could, being a working copper and all. According to Toshiko the Rift had been unbelievably quiet, but Jack wasn't surprised; even though the paradox had been reversed, the Rift was still a time/space event, and it had been drained by the storms that had destroyed Cardiff due to the twisting and tearing of the paradox. It would take a bit to recharge, and then they would be swamped. There was no real telling how long that would take.

"It's going to feel strange going back to work Monday," Alice said, taking a sip of coffee. She made an indecent noise; like father, like daughter, at least when it came to Ianto's coffee. "I'm not sure I even remember what my job is!"

Ianto nodded in understanding. "It's a good thing Jack stores his passcodes in his wrist strap, or else he'd be locked out of the Hub."

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed. "I thought you said you didn't like me doing that!"

The dragon rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I think I might make an exception in this case. After all, we can't all have a memory as good as mine."

"And I suppose you know what your passcodes are after a year?"

Jack wanted to laugh at Ianto's look of indignation. "Of course I do."

Alice snorted into her coffee mug. "He's got you there, Dad."

Jack pouted. "Even my daughter is ganging up with the dragon against me."

"That's because the dragon is awesome," Ianto said primly. Jack wondered how Ianto could keep a straight face, since that caused the entire table to crack up.

"Steven and I expect you and Ianto to come over for dinner some time, Dad," Alice said after the hilarity had subsided.

Jack's heart warmed at the invitation. "Rift willing, count on it."

She looked at him seriously. "And I don't want the pair of you to be so overwhelmed that you completely forget you have family, okay?"

He opened his mouth to deny it would happen, but Jack realized that, quite possibly, it would at some point. He and Ianto are creatures of duty, and it would inevitably take over their lives once more. It was the way they were, and they would need pushing in order to change.

Jack returned Alice's look. "I'm going to count on you to keep us grounded, okay? If you don't hear from one of us at least every other week, then you call us. I don't want to lose contact with you or Steven ever again."

Alice looked floored, but then a large smile graced her features. "Count on it, Dad."

"I will." He returned the smile, feeling as if his relationship with his daughter was finally back on the track it needed to be. And it had only taken the near-ending of the world to do it.

The trip back to Cardiff was an enjoyable one, although there was an undertone of seriousness that Jack knew had more to do with moving on that anything else. The last year had changed them all, and it didn't feel quite right going back to normality when they themselves were no longer normal.

It would be harder for Alice and Steven than it would be for Ianto and Jack himself; they were used to dealing with strange. But Alice had a life that didn't include the bizarre…unless you count having a father who couldn't die, and Jack hadn't been a part of her life for a long time. She was having to go back into that life denying what she'd been through for a year that no longer existed, and it would be hard for her. As for Steven…well, children adapted better than adults, and he'd been sheltered from a lot of what had occurred. Alice had been adamant that he not tell any of his friends about Ddraig Llyn, and Steven had said he understood, but Jack could see something eventually slipping. And, when that happened, he and Ianto would be there to help in any way they could.

Alice dropped them off at Ianto's house, declining the invitation to come in for a little while. She wanted to get to their own home, and spend the weekend preparing for her return to work Monday. It was lucky that Steven was out of school for the summer holidays, so that was one thing she didn't have to deal with yet.

Colonel Mace had been as good as his word; Ianto's car was sitting in the driveway. It had been in London, after Ianto had driven there in order to get into the First Contact press conference. When everything had gone to hell, he'd simply left his car at the UNIT base, not certain if he would see it again. Jack had managed to convince Mace to make certain the automobile had gotten back to its rightful owner, and Mace had done it, figuring he owed them something after what had happened.

Once again extracting a promise of dinner, Alice drove away, and Jack watched as her car stopped at the corner and then turned right and out of sight. He was going to miss them both, since he'd gotten used to having them around, but he vowed he would be better at keeping track of his family in the future.

Jack set one foot inside the house, and knew that he'd finally come full circle. The last time he'd been here had been the night before the Doctor had arrived. It had been the last time he'd known peace before that horrible year. And now, standing in the lounge of the large Victorian that had become his home, Jack felt surrounded by that peace, but it was the peace of the familiar.

Home would always be where Ianto was…and so, this was his home for as long as Ianto lived there.

"How about a takeaway and a movie?" the dragon asked, reaching for his home phone. Both of them had lost their mobiles during the last year; Jack would have to remember to reimburse Rhiannon for all the long distance calls he and Ianto had made over the last week. Getting new phones was number one on their list of getting things back to normal.

"Still have that Chinese place on your speed dial?" Jack hung his coat up on the hat stand near the door, toeing his shoes off. He'd be glad to get back to his regular clothes, since he'd had to borrow from the villagers in order to have anything decent to put on. Just wearing trousers without braces was driving him nuts.

Ianto checked. "I do, yes. Your usual?"

"Sounds like a plan." Jack flopped onto the sofa, sighing in relief. Things would be hectic tomorrow, but tonight he could have his dragon all to himself.

He leaned his head against the back of the sofa, listening as Ianto ordered for them. Jack hadn't realized just how much he'd missed this house, until he'd come back.

"Half an hour," Ianto said, slumping down beside Jack. He practically curled up into Jack's side, humming in pleasure. "Welcome home."

"It's good to be home," Jack answered, looping his arm around Ianto and pulling him closer. "You have no idea how many times I dreamed of this, just sitting here with you, in our house."

"I think I do," the dragon murmured.

They sat there, and Jack simply enjoyed the contentment he was feeling. He and Ianto had definitely re-bonded in Ddraig Llyn, but this was different. This was them, getting back to the familiar, and to their usual lives.

"Should we let everyone know we're back?" Ianto asked drowsily.

"Why don't I do that while you go and get dinner?" Jack suggested. "I also wouldn't mind a shower and a change of clothes."

"Hmm…because I'm too comfortable to move?"

"Lazy dragon."

"But you love me anyway."

Jack smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess I do."

* * *

Ianto chose "Goldfinger" as their after dinner movie, and as much as Jack liked Sean Connery he knew it was to get him back for making the dragon fetch their food. Jack didn't mind, although he did playfully tease Ianto about his Bond fixation.

He never should have gotten Ianto those DVD's for Christmas…

Goldfinger was just breaking into Fort Knox when the phone rang.

Grumbling, and yet knowing the team wouldn't be calling unless it was important, Jack shifted Ianto and got up to answer it.

"_Toshiko said you were back,"_ Kathy Swanson said once he'd picked up.

"Yep, a couple of hours ago," Jack answered. He was really glad he didn't have to be jealous of Ianto and the detective having lunch together anymore, although he'd been pleasantly surprised that she and Toshiko had become a couple. It did show that Kathy had good taste.

"_I hate to bother you two, but there's something going on I thought you might want to know about."_

Jack quickly went into professional mode. "Something Torchwood related, I take it."

Ianto put the film on pause, sitting up on the couch and paying attention to Jack's part of the conversation. Jack mouthed 'Kathy Swanson' and the dragon nodded in understanding.

"_Afraid so. I know you wanted to have the night off…"_

"It's fine, Kathy. What's going on?"

"_We got a report that a weird fish creature was out joy-riding in a red Chrysler Crossfire through a residential area –"_

A Blowfish. _Lovely_.

"Was the team called in?" Jack asked.

He could hear Swanson rolling her eyes down the phone line. _"Of course they were. But, when I heard that the last known location of the vehicle was about a mile from Jones' house…"_

"I see your point." Even though Jack knew his team could handle it, Jack was familiar with the area, and the Blowfish could easily endanger innocent civilians if not stopped, some of them Ianto's neighbors. Knowing Blowfish the way Jack did, the alien was undoubtedly stoned to its actual gills. "Thanks, Kathy, for the heads' up."

"_No problem, Harkness," _the detective replied. _"Besides, if Toshiko had to cancel plans with me, then I don't see why your night had to be blissful." _Her tone was teasing.

"Well, we hadn't actually gotten to the blissful part yet," Jack leered.

"_I don't want to know," _Kathy laughed. _"Now, get your arses out there and catch that whatever the hell it is. Cardiff's streets are dangerous enough without adding vehicular homicide by red fish-creature into the mix."_

"Yes, ma'am!'

"_Don't be cheeky, Harkness."_

"I wouldn't dream of it, Kathy."

"_God, I don't know how Jones puts up with you."_

"It's my good looks and undeniable charm."

"_Keep thinking that."_

Jack chuckled, telling her goodbye and hanging up. Ianto already had his shoes on, and Jack's coat was draped over one arm. "Your spare gun is in the kitchen drawer by the dishwasher."

He grabbed it, threading the holster onto his belt, enjoying the familiar weight of it against his hip. Jack was really glad he'd changed into more appropriate clothing; he really didn't want to chase down a Blowfish in ragged jeans and a pullover. He just didn't feel like the Captain without his usual gear.

He supposed it was a good thing that he hadn't decided to walk around naked after his shower.

"What do we have?" Ianto asked, holding out the coat.

Jack shrugged it on, reveling in the feel of his dragon's hands smoothing down the shoulders. He explained as Ianto retrieved his own gun and car keys. "I have my PDA in the car, unless UNIT took it," he dragon said. "We can track the SUV with it."

"Brilliant idea," Jack said. "What would I do without you?"

"Go racing around the wilds of Cardiff with no clue where you were heading?"

"I did get along just fine with finding my way around Cardiff before you came along, although this way is much more fun."

Ianto laughed. "C'mon, Captain. Let's go catch up with our team."

* * *

They found the SUV easily. It had been parked a bit further from Ianto's house than Kathy had reported, but it was still a residential area.

The sports car had been pulled up in the middle of the street, and if Jack was any judge he would have said the flat tire it had had been caused by a bullet. A small crowd had gathered around, and Jack heard the words 'gunshots' and 'police' as he and Ianto made their way through. "Did you see anything?" he demanded, putting on his Captain's voice for the first time in a year.

"There were gunshots," one of the milling women answered, her voice trembling. She pointed toward one house that was brightly lit. "They came from in there."

"Thank you, ma'am," Ianto said politely. "Now, if everyone could please disperse, we'll take of it from here."

None of the crowd looked happy, but everyone began to withdraw. From somewhere in the group someone muttered, "Bloody Torchwood," and Jack couldn't help but smirk at the irritated tone.

Jack turned to Ianto. "You go in through the front," he ordered. "I'll take the back. See if you can find out if the team is all right."

Ianto nodded, pulling his gun. He jogged toward the open front door.

Jack headed around the house, his senses alert for anything that didn't belong. The Blowfish had to have been inside, quite possibly holding the family who owned the house hostage. They would have to make certain no one was hurt, and at the same time make certain the Blowfish didn't get away.

There was a set of French doors leading out from the house and into the back garden. Jack made his way toward them, and the curtains were parted just enough to give him a good look at the scene within. The Blowfish had a girl at gunpoint, and it was apparent that he was taunting the team as they stood there, their own guns aimed at the intruder. Only Owen wasn't taking part in the impasse; he was kneeling next to a man, who had obviously been shot, and was working over him with his medical kit open next to him.

Jack reached for the door handle; it was locked. He stifled a curse at the homeowner's security mindedness, and flipped open his Vortex Manipulator. Ianto might tease him about keeping only his passcodes in it, but there were still a few functions that worked.

Including the lockpick.

He punched a button, and the door's lock disengaged with a near-silent click. Easing the glass door open, Jack caught the end of the Blowfish's tirade.

"- dare you?" It really was taunting them. His hostage was whimpering, and Jack knew he would only have one shot at this…

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ianto coming around the corner and into the lounge area. He caught Jack's eye, and Owen must have also noticed something, because he looked up from the first aid he was performing and did a double-take. Jack couldn't miss the grin that curled the medic's lips upward.

Toshiko stood with her back to Jack, her gun and a scanner pointed at the Blowfish. Gwen was protecting a third member of the family; obviously the mother. He could see her face the best, and she looked uncertain, as if she was trying to figure a way out of the situation without further bloodshed.

It was too bad she didn't know the Blowfish as well as Jack did, or else she would have known only taking the alien out would resolve anything, especially if the fish was wired.

"Would you?" the Blowfish went on, sniffing the girl as if she was some sort of delicacy. "Won't you?"

Jack took the shot.

The Blowfish's brains spattered the tatty drapes behind it.

The girl began to wail, as Jack's team turned to look in the direction of the shot. Ianto stepped out from cover, taking his rightful place just behind Jack's left shoulder.

Jack grinned. "Hey kids," he greeted them, "did you miss us?"


End file.
